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Arrest of Bathiudeen brothers: Family lawyers mull fundamental rights petition
Lawyers for former minister and All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) Leader Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaj Bathiudeen are drafting Fundamental Rights (FR) petitions to be filed in the Supreme Court against their arrest and detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
Complaints over the arrests have also been lodged with the Human Rights Commission, said Rushdhie Habeeb, an attorney for the Bathiudeen family.
The former minister and his brother are currently being held by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for 90 days after they were taken into custody last week for aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attackers. Mr Habeeb told the Sunday Times that the family’s lawyers as well as members of the family themselves have been given access to the two men.
At the time of the arrests on April 24, Police Spokesman Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Ajith Rohana said the CID took the two suspects into custody under the PTA based on witness testimony, scientific evidence as well as circumstantial evidence that pointed them to having aided and abetted the Easter attackers.
“We see this as an arrest and investigation rather than the usual investigation and arrest,” Mr Habeeb observed, pointing out that the report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the Easter attacks makes it clear that there is no evidence linking either Rishad Bathiudeen nor his brother of aiding and abetting the attackers.
The CoI, however, had noted irregularities in the issuance of scrap metal while Mr Bathiudeen was the Minister of Industry and Commerce, with an unusually high amount being issued to Colossus (Pvt) Ltd, which was owned by Easter Sunday bomber Inshaf Ahamed. Mr Habeeb pointed out that the CoI has said this matter should be forwarded to the Bribery Commission. “That charge clearly does not fall under the PTA. As such, there is no basis for arresting them under the PTA,” he stressed.