COLOMBO (News 1st); Former Sri Lankan Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka made a shocking revelation in parliament this morning (21), when he pointed fingers at the Criminal Investigation Department claiming they had tapped his mobile phone, including his WhatsApp phone conversations.
He claimed that he felt this was happening after he was questioned on certain points by the CID in a recent interrogation, noting that the only way the CID would have known certain details is if they had listened in to his WhatsApp calls.
“As the interrogation was going on, the detectives noted that they had listened to my conversations in 2018 & 2019. According to the Criminal Code of Procedure, an order of a Magistrate is required for investigations relating to telephone conversations,” the MP told Parliament.
The MP said when he questioned the detectives if they obtained a court order, the response was that CID Director Prasad Ranasinghe had given them the go-ahead.
“This means that the CID did not have a court order, and they had violated my rights to privacy,” said the MP adding that the right to expression enjoyed by a Member of Parliament was also violated.
The former Minister and current MP asked the government if the CID was using the infamous ‘Pegasus’ App or similar technology to tap his phone.
‘Pegasus’ received worldwide attention recently when several world-leaders phones were said to have been infected by the spyware developed by an Israeli company.
Ranawaka flayed all sides as he raised the issue in parliament today, going on to claim that mobile service providers were also to blame as they had infringed on his rights as a result of a potential breach of his personal phone conversations.
He demanded that all those connected to the issue were summoned before a Parliamentary Privileges Committee.