A group of defendants in the Easter Sunday terrorist attack case has filed a Fundamental Rights Petition before the Supreme Court, requesting a ruling that their fundamental rights have been violated due to the absence of legal representation during the ongoing trial.
The petition seeks an interim injunction to suspend proceedings of the case—currently being heard before a three‑member High Court bench—until the Supreme Court delivers its final determination on the petition.
According to the petitioners, the lawyers who previously represented them withdrew from the case due to the daily hearing schedule. They further state that although lawyers were subsequently appointed at the government’s expense, these lawyers too withdrew because of the difficulty of communicating in Tamil, the language spoken by the defendants.
The petitioners—Muhammad Akram Ahakkam, Mohamed Hanifa Zainul Abdeen, Jasim Zainul Abdeen, and Rasik Raza Hussain—have named the Attorney General and the Registrar of the three‑judge High Court bench as respondents.
The petition states that the Attorney General filed a case in 2021 against the petitioners and 24 defendants, involving 23,270 charges, including conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks.
The petition also notes that the Supreme Court previously dismissed an appeal made by one of the defendants against an interim order and directed that the case be heard daily until its conclusion.
The petitioners highlight that due to the daily schedule, the lawyers Ghazali Hussain, Rushdie Habib, and K.S. Ratnawel, who had earlier appeared on their behalf, informed the court that they would withdraw because they would be unable to attend other cases already under their responsibility.
They further point out that although new lawyers were appointed using state funds, they too withdrew from representation because of language‑related communication barriers.
The petitioners argue that in a case where more than 2,300 witnesses have been named, they require competent legal counsel capable of properly questioning witnesses. Without this, they claim they will be severely disadvantaged, and their right to a fair trial and the opportunity to prove their innocence will be undermined.
They state that this situation amounts to a violation of their fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 12(1), 13(3), and 13(5) of the Constitution.
Accordingly, the petitioners request the Supreme Court to declare that their fundamental rights are being violated, and to issue an order directing the Personal High Court Bench to ensure they receive proper legal representation and to take up the case only after such representation is in place.
( Adopted from a Sinhala Language news story published by The Leader.)