Colombo Magistrate’s Court No. 3, presided over by Hon. Pasan Amarasinghe, today delivered a verdict in Case No. 4690/03/2008, acquitting and discharging both accused, Mr. Hemachandra Perera and Mr. Prabath Duminda Weerarathna both former Arny Intelligence officers, from all charges filed under Sections 314 and 32 of the Penal Code of Sri Lanka.
The accused were alleged to have assaulted two individuals, purportedly journalists and diplomat staff officer during a 2008 incident linked to state intelligence operations commonly referred to as “white van” abductions. The trial resumed in 2023 after the suspects were arrested in 2017 and remanded for a prolonged period. In a detailed and robust defence, Senior Counsel Shiraz Noordeen and Attorney-at-Law with Farzan Mohamed highlighted the prosecution’s failure to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt. Key elements leading to the acquittal included:
Illegality of Identification Parade: The court accepted the defence submission that the accused
had been exposed to media coverage before the ID parade, Unreliable Witness Testimony: The primary witness (PW-01) admitted to misidentifying participants from the general public as suspects, while PW-02 categorically stated he could not identify any perpetrator, contradicting prior police statements.
Absence of Medical Evidence: No qualified medical report was submitted to establish any bodily harm suffered by the complainants. Proven Alibi: Accused No. 1 successfully established an unchallenged alibi corroborated by
documentary and photographic evidence, including birthday records and religious observances on the date of the incident.
The court observed that the prosecution had failed to satisfy the burden of proof under the strict standards required by criminal law. Notably, no common intention was established under Section 32, nor was any act of hurt substantiated under Section 314.
The CID had led the prosecution in this case. The acquittal is significant against the backdrop of
continued investigations into similar allegations arising during the Rajapaksa administration,
many of which remain unresolved.
