A suspect who had been held on remand for nearly 15 years under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) has been granted bail by the Court of Appeal, according to BBC Sinhala.
The accused, Thambaiyah Prakash, also known as “Dhanush,” was released after the Court of Appeal overturned a Colombo High Court order that had refused his bail application.
The Court ordered his release on a cash bail of Rs. 200,000 and four sureties of Rs. 5 million each.
As part of the bail conditions, the Court imposed a foreign travel ban, ordered the surrender of his passport, and directed him to report to the Terrorism Investigation Division once every two weeks.
Prakash was arrested on August 9, 2009, under the PTA. The Attorney General later filed 230 charges against him in the Colombo High Court, including 115 charges under the PTA.
The Court of Appeal considered the fact that the accused had spent 14 years and seven months on remand and that the trial, involving 108 witnesses, was likely to take a considerable amount of time to conclude.
The appellate bench held that the prolonged period of remand and the expected delay in concluding the trial amounted to “exceptional circumstances” under the PTA, warranting the grant of bail. (Newswire)