Aragalaya activist, actress Damitha Abeyratne, remanded till Sept 14
COLOMBO – Popular actress and protest leader, Damitha Abeyratne, who was arrest by the police on Wednesday (7) on charges of forcibly entering the Presidential Secretariat on July 10, was placed under remand custody until September 14 by the Fort Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (8),
Abeyratna, a leading figure of the ‘Aragalaya’ and one of the main spokespersons at ‘GotaGoGama’ at Galle Face, was arrest by the Colombo North Crimes Divisions at around 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, while returning from a protest at Diyatha Uyana, in Battaramulla. Police, who have also charged her with damaging property, have said further investigations were being undertaken by the Fort Police.
Abeyratna had been earlier given notice to appear at the Borelasgamuwa Police on September 9, to make a statement. However, she was arrested before she could comply with notice. Her lawyer, Amila Egodamahawatte, calling the arrest unlawful, said his client was arrested by Fort Police, while she received summoning to appear at the Borelasgamuwa Police give a statement on September 9.
“The Police took her into custody like she was a terrorist at Diyatha Uyana,” he said, adding that a fundamental rights petition will be filed against the unlawful arrest.
Rights activists and civil society members who participated in Wednesday’s protest, which was headlined ‘Black Hour’, meanwhile claim Abeyratne’s arrest was made in the aftermath of her speech criticizing President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his government for not addressing the plight of people who have been suffering of the high cost of living.
“People in the country can’t afford goods any longer. Mothers don’t have money to give milk to their children,” she told media at the protest site near Parliament, adding, “These people (leaders) don’t understand the plight of the people because they aren’t with the people, so obviously our struggles and difficulties are gone unseen.”
She said the politicians were there to maintain the power, protect their sons and maintain political ties. “That’s all they do,” she said, noting that people have come forgetting colour, race and party to stand up on behalf of the country.
She asked the public not to be blinded or stay quiet. “Come out and voice out your difficulties, otherwise we will never be understood,” she urged, noting, “They thought the struggle was over but it’s not like that, we are here because the struggle is not over.”
Abeyratne urged the people to voice out their agitations and frustrations instead of remaining quiet, and said, “If we forget about the ‘Aragalaya,’ these politicians will continue to sit in power.”
Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic crisis in history, has been widely criticized by global human rights bodies including the United Nations Human Rights Council, for arresting protest leaders and suppressing dissenting voices.
Meanwhile, local media reports said Leader of the Opposition and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), Sajith Premadasa, who visited Abeyrathne at Fort Police station on Thursday, had said it was impossible to support the government when it is engaged in suppressing descent
-ENCL/economynext.com
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