Three Parliament employees guilty of sexual harassment dismissed

Three employees of Parliament who were found guilty of sexually assaulting female staff of Parliament have been dismissed, Parliament's Communications Department said.

Action on the matter was taken following an investigative process which confirmed the guilt of these employees. Subsequently, based on the recommendation of the Secretary-General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera, Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne, approved their dismissal on January 9th, 2024.

Following reports published in newspapers on July 30th and August 2nd, 2023, regarding incidents of sexual harassment against Parliamentary staff during the years 2021 and 2022, an internal tri-member investigative committee was appointed on August 4th, 2023. This committee was established under the directives of the former Speaker and was headed by the then Director of Administration, as appointed by the Secretary-General of Parliament.

During the investigations conducted by this committee, two parliamentary employees were suspended from service. The committee's report was submitted to the Secretary-General of Parliament on August 23, 2023. Subsequently, for further guidance, the report was referred to the Attorney General.

Based on the Attorney General's recommendations, the investigation was handed over to the Bureau for the Prevention of Abuse of Children and Women under the directive of the Inspector General of Police. Meanwhile, police investigations led to the arrest of another parliamentary employee. This employee was also suspended from service on January 30, 2024.

Accordingly, following the filing of charges, the accused officials requested a formal investigation. In response, a legal disciplinary inquiry was conducted in accordance with procedural regulations. For this purpose, retired High Court Judge Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena, was appointed to lead the inquiry.

The final report of this disciplinary inquiry was submitted to the Secretary-General of Parliament, Kushani Rohanadeera, on December 23rd, 2024. Based on the said report, a recommendation was made to the Hon. Speaker to dismiss the three employees with effect from the dates of spention. Acting on this recommendation, the Hon. Speaker approved the dismissal, and the employees have now been officially removed from service.