Rishad gets bail, travel banned

The Colombo Hulftsdorp and Fort Magistrate’s Courts yesterday (14) ordered the release of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who was remanded for more than six months over two separate cases.

Following the granting of bail, the courts issued a travel ban on the suspect and directed the Registrar of Courts to inform the Controller of Immigration and Emigration.

Fort Magistrate Priyantha Liyanage has ordered the release of Rishad Bathiudeen, who was remanded on suspicion of involvement in the Easter attacks, on two sureties of Rs. 5,000,000.

The suspect was granted bail on a bail application made when the case was taken to court for a magisterial inquiry into the incident.

MP Rishad Bathiudeen was arrested by the CID on April 24 on charges of aiding and abetting the terrorists who carried out the series of terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday in 2019. He was detained by the CID for 111 days under the Prevention of Terrorism Prevention Act, was produced before the Fort Magistrate for the first time on August 10 and remanded till the end of the trial.

Bathiudeen, who was remanded as the fifth suspect in the case of Ishalini, the domestic who died at Bathiudeen’s house, was released on two sureties of one million rupees by Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya yesterday.

The Magistrate also issued a travel ban on the suspect and directed the Registrar to inform the Controller of Immigration and Emigration. The Magistrate released the suspect on bail after the Attorney General’s Department informed the court that the investigation into the case had been completed.

State Counsel Hansa Abeyratne appearing on behalf of the Attorney General and informed the court that although reports regarding the DVR machine and the girl’s handwriting in connection with this incident have been submitted to the Government Analyst, no reports have been received yet, but all police investigations have been completed and legal action is being taken against the five suspects by the Attorney General’s Department.

Accordingly, the State Counsel stated that he was not opposed to granting bail to the suspect and requested the court to send a memorandum to the Government Analyst regarding the DVR machine and the handwriting test.