All Ceylon People’s Congress (ACPC) leader Rishad Bathiudeen’s official lawyer Rushdie Habibuddin has said that he is being held for administrative and political reasons without consulting the court or the Attorney General, even though the Presidential Commission of Inquiry has not recommended his arrest.
He was speaking at a media briefing organized by the All Ceylon People’s Congress.
Speaking further, Attorney-at-Law Rushdie Habib said,
We have a problem with investigations being carried out from various angles without implementing the findings and recommendations made in the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry. According to a police spokesman, if there is any practical or scientific evidence, it should be presented to the court. Detention without doing so is a violation of basic human rights
It is not mentioned that MP Rishad Bathiudeen was arrested on the instructions of the Attorney General. Rishad Bathiudeen, the Commander of the Army and many others testified before the Presidential Commission on the Easter Attack. Nowhere in the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry does it say that he supported the Easter attack or that Rishad Bathiudeen should be investigated. According to the report, the Bribery and Corruption Commission should investigate the telephone call made to the Army Commander and the supply of copper to Closes.
However, MP Rishard Bathiudeen has been arrested. So far no facts have been reported to the court. We point out that the detention orders were obtained with the intervention of the Minister of Defense. MP Rishad Bathiudeen has not been named as a suspect or a defendant by a court. Therefore, he should be given the opportunity to attend sittings of Parliament. The Attorney General has announced that there is no obstacle for MP Rishad Bathiudeen to attend the Parliamentary session. In such a situation the CID has refused to bring MP Rishad Bathiudeen to Parliament without a valid reason. The Minister of Public Order stated in Parliament that bringing MP Rishad Bathiudeen to Parliament is an obstacle to investigations. Rishad Bathiudeen is not a member of a terrorist organization. A democratic political leader.
It appears that Rishad Bathiudeen is violating the parliamentary privileges of the Member of Parliament. The CID is not satisfied with the way it is handling this case. We see that Rishard Bathiudeen is trying to stop the entry of MP through political interference. There is a serious issue of violation of fundamental human rights in the arrest of democratic political leaders.