By Pamodi WaravitaThe fundamental rights (FR) petition against the alleged coercion of two moulavis by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to frame detained attorney Hejaaz Hizbullah, will likely be heard before the Supreme Court (SC) next week as an urgent matter, The Morning learnt. The two moulavis alleged that they had been instructed to say that they witnessed the meeting take place at a school in Batticaloa run by the “Save the Pearls” organisation, to which Hizbullah is affiliated. However, Balasooriya said that the moulavis have claimed that they were not aware of any such meetings between Hizbullah and Zahran. The two moulavis were arrested in March 2021 under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) for their alleged involvement in the Easter Sunday bombings of 21 April 2019. Last week, the BASL wrote to Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne regarding these alleged rights violations that lawyers face when gaining access to their clients in detention.

Source: The Nation June 03, 2021 18:56 UTC