Former parliamentarian Duminda Silva, who was acquitted by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under a Presidential pardon, has been taken into custody.
He has been arrested while receiving treatment at the Sri Jayawardenapura Hospital, the police spokesman SSP Nihal Thalduwa said.
The Supreme Court yesterday (31) ordered the arrest of Silva via the suspension of the presidential pardon granted to him by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa based on a fundamental rights (FR) petition filed by former MP Hirunika Premachandra.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General had been instructed to provide necessary advice and assistance to the CID in this regard while the court also issued a travel ban on the former MP.
The Silva was spotted at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) earlier this month with many reports claiming that he had left the country. However, it is yet to be confirmed if he had returned or not.
On June 24 in 2021, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa granted presidential pardon to several prison inmates including Duminda Silva, in view of the Poson Full Moon Poya Day.
Subsequently, fundamental rights petitions were filed by Sumana Premachandra, the wife of Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, a former Commissioner of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) President’s Counsel Gasali Hussain and several others, challenging the special presidential pardon granted to Duminda Silva.
