Namal Rajapaksa to face High Court in 2017 Hambantota port protest case
COLOMBO – The Hambantota Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Superintendent of Borella Magazine Prison to produce MP Namal Rajapaksa before the Hambantota High Court on November 16 in connection with a case arising from the 2017 protest against the leasing of Hambantota Port to a Chinese company.
The order was issued by Hambantota Chief Magistrate Isuru Neththikumara on Monday (2), who concluded proceedings in the Magistrate’s Court after informing the parties that the Attorney General had filed indictments against the accused before the Hambantota High Court.
Rajapaksa, named as the 35th accused in the case, is currently in custody at the Borella Magazine Prison.
A total of 41 people have been named as suspects in the case. Of them, 35, including MP D. V. Chanaka, former MPs Upali Kodikara and Prasanna Ranaweera, and former Provincial Council member Ajith Prasanna, appeared before court on Monday.
The Chief Magistrate also issued arrest warrants on five suspects, identified as accused Nos. 6, 11, 13, 29 and 31, as they failed to appear in court, and ordered that they be produced before court.
The case, which had remained before the Hambantota Magistrate’s Court for nearly 10 years, was concluded at that level on Monday and referred to the High Court for further proceedings.
Hambantota Police had instituted legal proceedings against 41 people, including Rajapaksa, over several alleged offences, including causing damage to public property, following a protest in 2017 against the then Yahapalana government’s decision to lease Hambantota International Port to a Chinese company.
-ENCL
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