OFCOM dismisses complaint by Suresh Sallay against Channel 4

•  OFCOM says complaint was unsustainable and there was no case for broadcaster to answer
•  Says Sallay was not dealt with by Channel 4 documentary in a way that was unfair to him
•  Notes Sallay’s responses were also reflected fairly and accurately in the program 

UK’s communications regulator, the Office of Communications (OFCOM) on Tuesday dismissed the complaint filed by Sri Lanka’s head of State Intelligence Service (SIS) Major General Suresh Sallay in relation to the Channel 4 documentary on the Easter Sunday attacks of 2019. 

Announcing its decision the OFCOM said, Sallay’s complaint was unsustainable and that there was no case for the broadcaster to answer. 

 “Having viewed the programme in its entirety alongside considering the individual elements of the complaint, we considered that, even if some of the statements complained about were inaccurate the allegations made by the whistle-blowers regarding the extent of the complainant’s involvement in the Easter bombings were not dealt with in a way that was unfair to him in the programme,” OFCOM noted.

They also added that it was taken into account that the allegations made by the whistle-blowers in the program were not presented as unequivocal statements of fact, but rather as their own personal recollections and opinions of the complainant and events surrounding the Easter bombings.

The regulator noted that Sallay was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations raised in the program and that a summary of his response was reflected in the program in a fair and accurate manner, and it would have been sufficiently clear to viewers that the complainant refuted the allegations made about him and that he had specifically denied any connection to the bombings.

In conclusion, the regulator said it would not proceed to consider the complaint further.

The OFCOM investigation into Sallay’s complaint commenced in September. In it, Sallay had complained that he was treated unjustly or unfairly in the program because it included false allegations about his involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings. 

A whistleblower featured in the program had claimed he had organised a meeting between the complainant and NTJ members in February 2018 and had conveyed to him “the Rajapaksas need an unsafe situation in Sri Lanka, that’s the only way for Gotabaya to become president”. 

While the SIS Chief had denied all allegations levelled against him by the program, he had told OFCOM that the program had the capacity to cause irreparable harm to his reputation and endanger the lives of him and his family.