Tissa Attanayake remanded till 5 Dec.

By T. Farook Thajudeen

Former United National Party General Secretary Tissa Attanayake was ordered to be remanded till 5 December by the Colombo High Court yesterday.

Attanayake, a former Minister, was remanded by High Court Judge Sarojini Kusala Weerawardena on charges of allegedly forging the signatures of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Maithripala Sirisena in a document that was published in the media during the 2015 Presidential Election.

The Attorney General indicted Attanayake in the Colombo High Court and he was ordered to appear in court yesterday. The Attorney General filed indictments in the Colombo High Court against the former UNP General Secretary for displaying a fraudulent document to the media during the last Presidential Election for the purpose of damaging the campaign of the then Common Candidate Maithripala Sirisena.

He was accused of publicly announcing on 22 December 2014 that there was a secret deal between UNP Leader Wickremesinghe and Sirisena in the run-up to the Presidential Elections in 2015. Attanayake then defected from the UNP and threw his support behind former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, soon after which he was named Health Minister, a position that had been left vacant following Sirisena’s decision to break ties with the Rajapaksa administration and become the Common Opposition candidate.

The Attorney General alleged that Attanayake had committed an offence under Section 3 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No. 56 of 2007 by inciting racial or religious hatred among ethnic communities.

Section 3(1) of the iCCPR cites that no person shall propagate war or advocate national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to cause discrimination, hostility or violence.

The AG further alleged that Tissa Attanayake had committed a punishable offence under Sections 454 and 459 of the Penal Code by forging a document and displaying it to the public as genuine and that the accused had also committed an offence under Section BO-C of the Presidential Election Act for displaying a fake document prior to an election, for the purpose of affecting the result of that election in relation to the personal character or conduct of any candidate. 

Attanayake was earlier released on bail by the Fort Magistrates’ Court.