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Riyaj Bathiudeen released from detention order

15 Nov 2021

Riyaj Bathiudeen, the brother of MP Rishad Bathiudeen, has been released from detention order under strict conditions by the Supreme Court. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had arrested the former minister and his brother on 24 April 2021 over their alleged links to the Easter Sunday terror attacks in 2019. The duo was initially detained for 72 hours under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). However, the CID later obtained permission to detain the two brothers for 90 days for further interrogations. Denying the accusations claiming that they aided and abetted the suicide bombers who perpetrated the Easter Sunday bombings, the Bathiudeen brothers had filed two separate FR petitions seeking a Supreme Court order stating that their fundamental rights were violated through this recent arrest and detention. They further sought an interim order for their release. On 14 October, Rishad Bathiudeen was granted bail by the Fort Magistrate’s Court over the case filed against him in connection with the Easter Sunday terror attacks. Meanwhile, on 15 July, while both Rishad Bathiudeen and his brother had been in custody, a 16-year-old girl who was serving as a domestic help at the Bathiudeen residence succumbed to severe burn injuries while receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital. She had been under medical care for 12 days since her admission to the hospital on 3 July. Subsequently, the former minister’s wife, father-in-law, and the middleman that had acquired the services of the housemaid in question were taken into custody on 23 July based on the testimonies recorded from nearly 20 individuals, autopsy results, and the evidence gathered by the investigating officers, which pointed to the fact that the deceased girl had been subjected to abuse. In addition, the 44-year-old brother-in-law of MP Bathiudeen was also taken into custody and produced before the Judicial Medical Officer for allegedly sexually abusing a young woman who worked as a domestic helper at the lawmaker’s official residence from 2015 to 2019. The victim’s remains were exhumed on 30 July for a second postmortem by a court-appointed specialist medical team. On 23 August, MP Rishad Bathiudeen, who was already under remand custody, was named the fifth suspect of that case. Bathiudeen’s brother-in-law Mohamed Ismat and Ponnaiya Pandaram, the intermediary who had brought the girl to the Bathiudeen residence, were released on bail in early September. Rishad Bathiudeen’s wife and father-in-law were later granted bail by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court when the case was taken up on 17 September.


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