Inter-Parliamentary Union adopts unanimous decision on Bathiudeen’s unlawful arrest

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the largest international organisation of national parliaments with a membership of 179 national parliaments and 13 regional parliamentary assemblies, which investigated the arrest and detention of Vanni District Parliamentarian Rishad Bathiudeen, issued its decision on the matter yesterday.

A complaint filed on behalf of Bathiudeen in May following his arrest on 24 April was investigated vigorously by the IPU. The decision on the matter was discussed and adopted unanimously by the IPU Governing Council at its 208th session on 30 November in Madrid.

Bathiudeen was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting the Easter attacks during his tenure as Minister of Industry and Commerce, but no evidence has been made public to this day. The particular allegation states that Colossus Ltd., owned by Inshaf Ahamed, who bombed the Cinnamon Grand, had attempted to acquire an export licence from the IDB. No involvement of Bathiudeen had been noted in the investigations, stated IPU in its report.

The IPU took many factors into consideration including the nature of the arrest, the nature of the allegations and the subsequent developments in the case.

The IPU expressed concerns that Bathiudeen was arrested under the Prevention of Terrorism Act in the absence of prompt processing of his Fundamental Rights application filed at the Supreme Court with the recusal of four judges from hearing the case. The IPU also expressed concerns that no official information was made available to show that any concrete evidence existed to make Bathiudeen a suspect although he was granted bail by the Forts Magistrate Court following around six months from his arrest.

They also expressed deep concern that the PTA is still in operation in its present form without amendment or abolition. The United Nations monitoring bodies have repeatedly expressed grave concerns in respect of the PTA, and the Sri Lankan authorities had also expressed their commitment towards such amendments, but no move had been made to amend or abolish the PTA thus far. 

The IPU called on the Government to notify them of any moves to amend or abolish the PTA if any progress had been achieved. The organisation also requested the Government to notify them of any credible evidence against Bathiudeen, if any existed. The IPU Governing Council further requested the Secretary General to notify all parliamentary and prosecuting authorities of this decision marked LKA-77. The IPU Committee will continue examining the case and make further reports in due course.