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Ferdinandez to make statement on July 16
View(s):Ruwan Ferdinandez, whose name had been mentioned in the reports filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in connection with the Lankamirror and Sri LankaXnews websites case, will make a statement to the CID on July 16, his lawyer told the Sunday Times.
Mr. Ferdinandez would make the statement according to the direction given by Colombo Additional Magistrate Prasanna Alwis on Friday.
The court made the ruling after CID officers sought an order that Mr. Ferdinandez makes a statement to them.
CID IP Anura Silva told the court Mr. Ferdinandez was not a suspect in the website case.
The CID told court that the investigations did not reveal any involvement of Mr. Ferdinandez in defaming President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Counsel Saliya Pieris appearing for Mr. Ferdinandez told court he was surrendering his client to court as his name was in the initial reports filed in court by the CID.
Counsel also submitted that the CID in its reports mentioned his client as the manager of the suspect websites and the staff who had been arrested under Sections 118 and 120 of the Penal Code.
He said Section 118 of the Penal Code dealing with the publication of the articles defamatory of the President had been repealed in 2002.
He also told court that there should be a complainant affected by the publication of the suspect websites for the CID to take action and that the CID on its own could not initiate investigations without any such complaint.
Inspector Silva told court that the Director of the Investigation Department was the complainant in the case.
Counsel further submitted that the CID was causing embarrassment to the President as the CID mentioned in the ‘B’ report that the suspect websites published articles damaging the “Rajakeeya Abhimanaya” (royal pride) of the President. He told court that Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972 since then there was no royalty in Sri Lanka.
The case will be called again on July 20.
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