The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners has filed a petition before the Court of Appeal (CA) seeking a writ of mandamus against Attorney General (AG), President’s Counsel Parinda Ranasinghe Junior, over his alleged failure to take legal action regarding the temporary forceful disappearance of Gonapinuwala Kapila Kumara De Silva in 2024.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (17), the Committee’s President, attorney Senaka Perera stated that under the country’s legal provisions, the AG is the authority responsible for filing cases related to enforced disappearances. He noted that despite the mother of the victim submitting a complaint along with all necessary documents regarding her son’s temporary disappearance, the AG has yet to file the case in court. “Hence, we requested the CA yesterday to issue a writ of mandamus against the AG,” Perera said.

De Silva was allegedly forcibly taken away by a group on 27 March 2024, around 6.30 p.m. at the Horowpathana Junction and his family has also faced harassment and questioning since the incident. Despite attempts by his mother to have the case prosecuted, no such measures have been taken to date. De Silva is currently being detained as a suspect in a separate case and is held at the Anuradhapura Prison.