Sandaruwan Senadheera, the editor of the ‘Lanka e News’ website, who returned to the island this afternoon (11) after a long stay abroad, was arrested by the police at the Katunayake International Airport. According to informed sources Senadhreera may be kept in the police after obtaining a statement and he will be produced in court tomorrow. Senadheera is on strong medications for a recurring back pain and may need medical supervision, in case he is kept in the police custody.
Following the disappearance of ‘Lanka e News’ journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda in 2010 and the arson attack on the institution, Sandaruwan Senadheera left the country for safety. Since then, he has been living in Britain for almost 16 years, receiving political asylum.
He also provided strong ideological support for the National People’s Power through the ‘Lanka e News’ website to bring the current government to power in the last presidential election and general election.
Police sources say that the arrest was made because he was named as a suspect in a case pending before the court. He is currently being detained at the Katunayake Police Station and is reportedly being recorded. The case police referred is from 2016 and based on a complaint lodged by Ms. Kavindra Nanayakkara, Acting Chief Magistrate of Gampaha at that time.
On 8 November 2016 Young Journalists Association of Sri Lanka in a letter to Judicial Service Commission raised some important issues related to filing charges against Lanka-e-News for reporting on the issue of judicial ethics.
The letter said ” Given the prior reporting by Lanka e‑News concerning Magistrate Kavindra Nanayakkara, it raises a serious question of judicial ethics and conflict of interest for her to issue orders directly affecting that website. Any person with even a basic understanding of legal ethics would find such conduct questionable.
We are also of the view that Mr. Upali Tennakoon has been gravely prejudiced by the diversion of the proceedings into matters wholly unrelated to his case, placing undue and unnecessary pressure on the CID.
The complainant in the attempted murder case is the CID itself, which is also conducting the investigation. There was no request made by the CID to arrest the editor of Lanka e‑News or to record a statement from him, nor was the court informed of any such necessity. Despite this, warrants—including international warrants—were issued, even though no case had been filed and no individual had been named as a suspect by the investigating authorities.”
The English translation of the Young Journalists Association posted below in full:
28 November 2016
Mr. G. M. W. P. Jayathilake
Secretary
Judicial Service Commission
P.O. Box 573
Aluthkade
Colombo 12
Dear Sir,
Regarding Orders Issued by the Gampaha Magistrate in the Upali Tennakoon Case
The complaint regarding the attempted murder of former Rivira newspaper Editor‑in‑Chief, Mr. Upali Tennakoon, on 23 January 2009, has been pending before the Gampaha Magistrate’s Court for a considerable period.
Following the change of government, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) formalised the investigation. In the course of those investigations, a Staff Sergeant attached to Army Intelligence, Mr. Prem Ananda Udalagama, was arrested in connection with the incident.
At the relevant time, the case was being heard by Ms. Kavindra Nanayakkara, Acting Chief Magistrate of Gampaha. On 31 July 2016, the Lanka e‑News website published an article concerning the Magistrate, reporting, among other matters, that she had posted comments on her Facebook account criticising the Attorney General over the arrest of Magistrate Thilina Gamage in relation to the illegal possession of a baby elephant, and that she had posted photographs deemed inappropriate for a judicial officer.
An identification parade in the Upali Tennakoon case was held on 26 August 2016, during which Mr. Tennakoon and his wife identified the suspect, Prem Ananda Udalagama. On the following day, the Magistrate stated in open court that the identification had occurred because photographs of the suspect had previously been published by Lanka e‑News and the Divaina newspaper.
No court order had been issued prohibiting the publication of the suspect’s photograph. It is unclear how the Magistrate arrived at the conclusion that the identification was influenced by media publication. A photograph of the suspect had appeared in a Lanka e‑News article dated 18 July 2016 titled “Two Teams Deployed for Lasantha’s Murder”, and subsequently in the Divaina newspaper on 7 August 2016 in an article by journalist Mr. Saman Gamage titled “Forgetting Everything, Remembering Udalagama’s Face Is the Strange Game of Lasantha’s Murder.”
We have been informed that the photograph was originally published on a website linked to an embassy, and not initially by Lanka e‑News or journalist Saman Gamage. In numerous other cases where police have circulated photographs of suspects sought for arrest, similar objections have not arisen. Where a suspect cannot be apprehended and the matter is of significant public interest, publication of such material should not, in our view, be considered improper.
Despite this, Mr. Saman Gamage was summoned to the CID on the Magistrate’s order to give a statement. As he failed to appear, and although this was not directly relevant to the Upali Tennakoon case, the Magistrate ordered that a separate case be filed through a B report. Acting on this order, the CID filed a case against Mr. Gamage.
Thereafter, on another court date, the Magistrate ordered the CID to investigate an anonymous petition received by the court concerning the Lanka e‑News website. From that point onward, the investigation into Lanka e‑News appeared to take precedence over the investigation into the attempted murder of Mr. Tennakoon whenever the case was called.
The Magistrate directed the CID to inquire into matters such as the funding sources, address, authorship, registration, and advertising of the Lanka e‑News website—issues that bear no relevance to the attempted murder investigation. While the Magistrate had ordered a separate case to be filed against Mr. Gamage, a different approach appeared to be adopted with regard to Lanka e‑News, with repeated criticism directed at the CID for allegedly failing to investigate that website adequately.
It is noteworthy that the CID, in its investigation into the assault on Mr. Tennakoon, had even recorded statements from former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda. In this context, the decision to prioritise inquiries into an unrelated media outlet—rather than examining telephone records, financial transactions, and other evidence relevant to the suspects—raises serious concerns.
Honourable Secretary,
Given the prior reporting by Lanka e‑News concerning Magistrate Kavindra Nanayakkara, it raises a serious question of judicial ethics and conflict of interest for her to issue orders directly affecting that website. Any person with even a basic understanding of legal ethics would find such conduct questionable.
We are also of the view that Mr. Upali Tennakoon has been gravely prejudiced by the diversion of the proceedings into matters wholly unrelated to his case, placing undue and unnecessary pressure on the CID.
The complainant in the attempted murder case is the CID itself, which is also conducting the investigation. There was no request made by the CID to arrest the editor of Lanka e‑News or to record a statement from him, nor was the court informed of any such necessity. Despite this, warrants—including international warrants—were issued, even though no case had been filed and no individual had been named as a suspect by the investigating authorities.
We also have serious concerns regarding procedural delays. While many other cases before this court are postponed for extended periods, this matter has been pursued with unusually short timelines. If the publication of a suspect’s photograph were to affect the prosecution, that would be a matter for the Attorney General to consider at the stage of indictment. Such publication does not amount to contempt of court and, if anything, benefits the suspect. We therefore seek clarification as to the legal basis upon which the Magistrate acted.
The judiciary must never be used to serve personal interests or to conceal impropriety. The dignity of the judiciary is upheld not by suppressing media reports, but by the integrity and impartiality of judicial conduct.
In these circumstances, we respectfully request an immediate inquiry into the conduct of Gampaha Chief Magistrate Ms. Kavindra Nanayakkara in relation to the Upali Tennakoon case. We further request that the Attorney General be advised to withdraw the case filed against Divaina journalist Mr. Saman Gamage and to recall the international warrants issued against Lanka e‑News Editor Mr. Sandaruwan Senadheera.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours faithfully,
Young Journalists Association