The Attorney General informed the Fort magistrate on Thursday that the entire case against prominent Human Rights Lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah rests on a single statement made by a child at the Al Zuhriya Madrasa.
The statement, Hizbullah’s lawyers allege was coerced after the Criminal Investigations Department took children into custody and held them for 3 days without parental supervision before splashing it across the media.
“This entire Easter Sunday investigation which was trumped through the media has now come to this single statement from a child and that too on the face of it is a lie” Hizbullah’s lawyers told court.
The statement of the child, filed in the B- Report says “Hizbullah said he was a lawyer and that he has a university in Batticaloa. He said that if we study well we can enter his university in Batticaloa and become a Lawyer like him. He showed a video of Israel and Palestine and said that the Christians have taken the mosques in Palestine and we have to attack the catholics if we are to hurt them”.
Counsel for Hizbullah said the fact that the CID was relying on this single statement was laughable.
“Who is the Hizbullah who has a university in Batticaloa? Is it this man on the dock or some other? any 10 year old Muslim child knows what is taking place in Israel and Palestine. The issue is with the Jews. The Catholics and Christians live in Palestine and are fighting the opression. This was how the CID fumbled after coercing statements,” they said.
Niran Anketell appearing for Hizbullah further pointed out that the former Magistrate had in fact ordered an investigation into how the statements made by the children were leaked to the media.
“That was because it was clear that it was the CID who leaked it on the very same day it was made before the Magistrate. The Magistrate didn’t give the investigation to the CID because he knew they can’t be trusted,” he said.
Earlier, on July 1 Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake ordered the DIG- of the Western Province to submit a report on how the statements made at his chamber were leaked to the media. In the order the Magistrate said that the issue goes to the root of the integrity of his court.
Magistrate Dissanayake also told open Court that officers of the CID had attempted to show pictures of Hizbullah in his chamber and that he had to, “chase them out”
“There is nothing on that and they are asking you and us to believe that this was all true,” his Lawyer said.
Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested on the 14th of April 2020 and paraded across the media as being a mastermind of the Easter Sunday Terror attack. Thereafter every allegation was countered including the receiving of funding from Qatar Charity.
“It now has all boiled down to some speech related offence which is ex facie false,” lawyers told the court.
J.S Tissainayagam and a host of other critics of the government were charged under these provisions previously.
Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris, Sudarshana Perera and Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihama appeared for the CID. Niran Anketell, Shanaka Cooray, Hafeel Farisz and a host of Lawyers appeared for Hizbullah.
Hizbullah the Principal of the Madrasa Mohomed Shakeel were remanded till the 3rd of March 2021.
Plato / February 21, 2021
So the AG has filed action based on a single statement of a child.
No doubt it shows beyond all doubt that he is a Puppet on a String.
Besides there seems to be a mix-up.
The Batticaloa University [Private ] is owned by M.L.A.M. Hisbullah of Kattankudy fame who is a fully-fledged politician.
Hejaz Hisbullah, an old thomian is a brilliant young lawyer who had appeared on behalf of Prof: Ratnajeevan Hoole in that famous case filed in the supreme court against the unlawful move of Hopper Sirisena in dissolving Parliament in 2018.
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Ajith / February 21, 2021
The fact is most of Muslims politicians and the Muslim Justice minister join hands to support to give AG to this case and they want to see Hejaaz Hishbulla inside the jail.
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upali1942 / February 21, 2021
Having cultivated cruelty and hatred what do you expect to reap.
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Tony / February 21, 2021
“No smoke without fire”. The single statement is enough with other supporting evidence.
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Wasn’t war hero Rathnayaka prosecuted on an LTTE “TERRORIST’s” statement???????
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It’s very strange why this suspect is still in remand when other hardcore Muslim terrorist suspects have managed to get out or avoided getting arrested at all. Maybe he is not getting on well with Muslim politicians.
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In this day and age, sophisticated terrorists and criminals know how to carry out mass atrocities while being on the side of law. And they make sure their shenanigans will never be traced back to them.
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Ashan / February 21, 2021
They arrest people, based on their religious or political leanings, on non existent evidence, or flimsy ones that will not stand up in a court of law. Yet on the other hand there are plenty of witnesses, willing to testify about the war crimes committed by those now in power, and those who have been given prestigious appointments in the Nandasena regime, and not only are they NOT arrested, but even the international human rights organizations are not allowed to seek justice for the thousands of victims.
Who the heck do they think they are fooling? Certainly not those watching us from all human rights organizations, and international agencies that want justice for the voiceless victims.
Wishing the Rajapaksa team lots of “fun” in Geneva, they surely deserve it.
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Mallaiyuran / February 21, 2021
“Who is the Hizbullah who has a university in Batticaloa? “
Now Cardinal is asking “How can a commission of those who has not completed O/L read and recommend action from PCOI of 4/21?
The idiot Sinhala Buddhist CID who couched the child didn’t know the Batticola Hezbollah has Rs 3000 Billion in BOC If somebody arrest him, he will deposit it back in SA and the exchange rate will for to Rs 300/Dollar.
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Thiha / February 22, 2021
So the crafty pro rajapkshe CID goons cooked up a googly by conflating M L A M Hisbulla their very own stooge with genuine connections to S.A. and loads of money from them as well with which he built a Madrasa type Muslim University to a Thomian very talented lawyer Hejaaz Hisbulla all because he lead and won the case against the coup orchestrated by the Rajapkshes and the miserable Sirisena who should be hung by his balls for mass murder.
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deepthi silva / February 22, 2021
Only children ( mentally) believe in a god !
So what harm in a child giving his version of a fantasy ?
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Thiha / February 22, 2021
I suppose all this naked abuse is good for a whole lot of people including Muslim stooges and millionaire Muslim businessmen. Exporting hatred, cultivating hatred by starting a Wahabi university all AOK. The cruelty and hatred aimed at those with talent who stood up to these scoundrels in the name of justice. I hope someday karma will payback with interest on these scumbags Muslims included.
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Andare 2.0 / February 22, 2021
Who the hell cares what somebody’s lawyers have to say? It looks like Colombo Terrorgraph now reduced to reporting opinions of personal lawyers. What a joke this place is.
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Manel Fonseka / February 22, 2021
If this is really what led to HH’s arrest, & was no other evidence linking him in any way at all to the Easter bombing, the whole affair is an utter travesty of justice – shocking, frightening, diabolical. That a possibly innocent, decent, hardworking, humanitarian – as seems to be the case – has been locked up for nearly a year, for the most part without access to lawyers or family, his reputation torn to shreds, God knows what fears hanging over his head, is unforgivable. And at the same time, others, remanded or arrested, with heinous & more credible charges against them – are allowed to return to society — & that, during a pandemic which has already reached its tentacles into many prison cells — their charges dropped & compensation & positions bestowed upon them!
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Manel Fonseka / February 22, 2021
I wonder what has happened to Dr Shafi Shihabdeen who was similarly vilified by a story, though cooked up by evil men, one of whom appears to have been rewarded (I cannot think of another word) with an acting ministership, if only for a short period.
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Naturally, in our topsy-turvy, cock-eyed handling of affairs, the person who led the investigation which concluded that Shafi was innocent of the slanders that culminated in losing his job, his home, his children their places in school, & his family fleeing – who knows where – the man who performed his duty without fear or favour, is locked up, susceptible to Covid, rushed back to prison within hours of a heart operation, and left to stew until some unforeseeable future when he is condemned or released, or simply fades away.
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Manel Fonseka / February 22, 2021
Sadly, such things are not confined to this “land like no other. Seeing how an innocent child has condemned HH, I am struck by the similarity to the plot of Danish film, “The Hunt” — dir. Thomas Vinterberg. Mads Mikkelsen is Lucas, the kindergarten teacher, accused of molesting a child. Klara, his best friend’s daughter, has a crush on him & seems to have vilified him to another teacher, because he doesn’t respond to her insistent demands for more attention. Slowly, everyone comes to believe this, even his best friend, despite the child later repeatedly denying her remarks. Lucas has to leave his job, becomes an outcast & even his young son is shunned. Yes, only a film, perhaps, but surely based on real events & well worth watching.
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Manel Fonseka / February 22, 2021
Other films & documentaries about wrongful incrimination come to mind. Netflix has “When They See Us”, a short drama series about the incrimination of 5 teenagers in Harlem for the horrific rape of a jogger in Central Park in 1989. Convicted on the basis of false confessions extracted during intimidating, individual confinement, without parental presence, they receive varying sentences ranging from 6 to 13 years. It’s not until the real culprit confesses in 2002 that they are exonerated & released. In 2012 the doc. “The Central Park Five” appeared, & in 2019 Oprah Winfrey presented “When They See Us Now”, with the five men, the director/part writer of the series, & other key persons. This is currently on Netflix.
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Netflix streamed multiple cases in a series: “The Innocence Files”. It is truly shocking to learn just how widespread this situation is – the frequently long (even 40 years!) & painful internment of so many innocent people. I wonder what our record is. Could we possibly be better than more “advanced” countries?
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Mallaiyuran / February 23, 2021
” Could we possibly be better than more “advanced” countries?
Ha ha ha ha……….. You are too proud of the filth!
Manel,
Sorry for my award question, but is that possible for you to tell where do you live? Only the broad indication like “London Town”, “North America”, ME”, “EU”……? When you are hungry would you eat bread also or only always cake? The land you walk is completely carpeted or is there any grass growing dirt is there too? Home garden is plastic or with plants?
Don’t get heart attack, but some samples.
Lankawe is one of the country within the 22 countries uses raping as weapon.
Lankawe has the 2nd largest Missing Persons in the world (220 Countries).
Lankawe is 174 out of 179, for media personnel safety. Iran, Afghan, Somali, Russia………… couldn’t out do Lankawe.
Lankawe’s fastest growing Industry is not garments, but sex.
Lankawe is safe haven for money laundering so FTFA & EU blacklisted as one within the 19 financially notorious countries.
Old King is said to be possessing $18 B in foreign banks. Western Countries gave this info to Mangala when he was the FAM. Mangala immediately safe guarded all it by tipping Old King.
Now only Burma having a military coup, but we had constitutional coup in October 2018.
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Jeyawewa!
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Manel Fonseka / February 23, 2021
Mallaiyuran
I wish u posted in Tamil so a friend cd translate it for me. Your English is really difficult to understand. I’ve heard of “Singlish” & can cope with that; is what u write “Tinglish”?
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“Ha ha ha ha……….. You are too proud of the filth!”
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What on earth do u mean by that? Have u misunderstood “Cd we possibly be better than more ‘advanced’ countries”? Obviously, I dont believe we are; we have an appalling record in many respects. In fact, when I first visited Sri Lanka, for just 5 years when a teenager, I couldnt bear to read the newspapers cos they were always so full of violence: “Son kills father with a kaththa” was one regular headline, with roles reversed or filled by other relatives. And, apart from what u list, not too long ago Sri Lanka clocked up the world’s highest suicide rate! Unhappy country…..
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“Where do u live?” — Asia!
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Manel Fonseka / February 23, 2021
Where do YOU live, Mallaiyuran?
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“When u are hungry wd u eat bread also or only always cake?”
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Funny u should ask that. Late last night, when I ws starving, it ws a slice of CAKE that I had! Just like Marie Antoinette!
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“The land you walk is completely carpeted or is there any grass growing dirt is there too?”
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Oh, my G! There’s both grass & dirt — & plenty of both.
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“Home garden is plastic or with plants?”
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Definitely not plastic! I have to water it every day. Boiled water, naturally 🙄 — one cant be too careful, can one. This is Asia, after all.
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“….we had constitutional coup in October 2018.”
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Yes, I happened to be there then, & joined the demos. Badly affected by your vehicular pollution when standing near the roundabout at Eye Hospital Junction I think it is called. You really must do something about that, Mallaiyuran.
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Any other questions? Should I send u some cake from here?
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But to return to the subject of flawed justice & criminalization of people who do not merit it, as I believe is the case with Hejaaz H , what do u think?
Manel F
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Mallaiyuran / February 23, 2021
What can I think?………. Just another Appe Aanduwa arranged bombing and possibly, a pending Sinhala Jury Only verdict! I do not know talking about the injustices of the Lankan courts is a crime or not in Lankawe. But Hajeez is doing better than Ranjan. Rich & handsome Ranjan is washing prisoners’ toilets in the new home. But that is not a biggie because ½ Million mothers and young Lankan girls are doing that in Middle East. Aren’t we civilized enough to see all jobs as equal?
What I think may not matter, but Muslims may feel comforted if they know what Hakeem or Rishard think. Hakeem and Rishard’s acolytes voted for Slap Party, in 20A and explained they did so because they wanted to block Tamils getting Kalmunai North, by buttering King on his ego for power. But today having a massive rally in Galle Face Green, because Aanduwa is burning their bodies, not show empathy even for parents of only months old babies. How much in a 10 or 15 lb baby’s body to pollute the entire Lankawe with Covid-19?
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Mallaiyuran / February 23, 2021
All Muslim MPs and Ministers resigned together to annihilate UNP government, when they came to know that Batticola Hezbollah was going to be investigated on the case, for which now Hajeez Hisbullah is inside without investigation. They unitedly flexed the muscle and made the OIC to threaten Lankawe with Oil and economic sanctions. Batticola Hezbollah has Rs 3000 billion in BOC, in the name of his personal “Foundation” to build a Sharia University and send out world over a 1000 Sharia (Jihadies?) graduates every year. But Hajeez Hisbullah appeared free on the Old King’s Coup case for petitioners.
So, now neither Hakeem nor Rishard pronounce the name “Hezbollah or Hisbullah” but only Al Allah Salu Sala! Rishard has to pay Aanduwa 60 core to reforest Wilpattu. There are other model villages lying in jungles, which were built by Rishard with public funds, are being taken over by forests, not settled even with Muslim homeless. Rishard is keeping some Muslim Refugees in Puttlam, but not allowing them to settle in Mannar, so he can reap more payments on the name of these refugees while getting their votes for him in Mannar. There is a case on him about that too.
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Mallaiyuran / February 23, 2021
If Aanduwa arrests anybody and name them as a Jihadi, Sinhala Buddhists feel happy. Then they think that the sovereignty of their Land is saved by Medamulana Royals and they feel America is beaten back. So Aanduwa has let the milking cow Hezbollah out and put inside Hisbullah, who appears against government in courts.
I think it’s all fair because the accounts seem to be getting balanced & well settled in all side. Should somebody try to wash & bring the pig to the Mattress? Unless somebody come out with 16 Million of New King’s Thirukkai Vaal (Mantis Ray’s tails) Crazy Lankawe cannot be guided to return to democracy. Sorry Lady for hurting you!
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Manel Fonseka / February 22, 2021
I forgot to mention: Less than 2 weeks after the 1989 Central Park rape, Donald Trump took out a one-page ad in 4 New York City papers, with a large, bold headline spanning the page on several lines
“BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY — BRING BACK OUR POLICE”.
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His comments are believed to have “played a key role in shaping public opinion about the case.” Even after the 5 were exonerated he refused to apologise & continued to say they were criminals.
In 2013 he tweeted that the 2012 documentary, “The Central Park Five” by Ken Burns, “didnt explain the horrific crimes of these young men while in the park.” There were no such crimes.
He has repeatedly insisted they were guilty.
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