The Free Media Movement says that the arrest of Chamila Indika Jayasinghe of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service, who had been summoned before the CID for questioning over the sharing of a post on Facebook, was a new threat to freedom of speech and expression.
This was stated in a press release signed by the Convener of the Free Media Movement Sita Ranjani and Secretary Lasantha de Silva.
The press release further states:
According to the victim Chamila Jayasinghe, his arrest was arbitrary and forcible and his and his wife’s mobile phones were also seized by the police stating that a comment shared on his Facebook account had caused a public disturbance. The Free Media Movement, which sees the incident as a dark signal to government officials to refrain from commenting and criticizing, believes this should also be seen as an attempt to restrict fundamental rights under the category of cybercrime.
The reason for the arrest was stated to be a post shared on the social media network Facebook. Chamila Jayasinghe, who had gone to the Colombo CID on May 21 and worked as an Assistant Commissioner of Land Settlement in Kotmale, has been arrested. Chamila Indika Jayasinghe, who was produced before the Colombo 7 Magistrate’s Court on May 22 on the charge of ‘provoking the people against the government’ under Section 120 of the Penal Code, was released on bail by Magistrate T.K. Mr. Prabhakaran has ordered. The magistrate rejected the request of the police to remand him.
The threat of using such comments to intimidate public servants, citing public unrest, is likely to deter public servants from contributing to the promotion of good governance, which is essential for good governance. The Free Media Movement also condemns such incidents as despicable in society, treating public servants as those who have the constitutional right to enjoy every constitutional right.