• In CID custody for 72 hrs 
• Ali Sabry decries arrest as a public spectacle 

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (25) arrested former State Intelligence Service (SIS) head, retired Major General Suresh Sallay, in connection with the ongoing investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.

A special CID team carried out the arrest under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act in the early hours of yesterday in Peliyagoda. Sallay has been detained for up to 72 hours.

Speaking at a special media briefing in Colombo yesterday, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Legal Division, Jaliya Senaratne, said that since Sallay has been arrested under the provisions of the PTA, he can, upon arrest, be held for 72 hours (three days) for questioning. 

“Thereafter, based on the evidence, steps can be taken to obtain a detention order, and that legal provisions exist for this purpose,” he added.

Senaratne also said the public will be informed in due course about the facts that they need to know regarding Sallay’s arrest.

The Senior DIG in charge of the Western Province, Sajeewa Medawatte, also addressing the same press conference, stated that Sallay was arrested based on evidence related to the 2019 Easter Attacks bombings. Medawatte further mentioned that a lengthy investigation needs to be conducted in this regard and that more information will be revealed in due course. 

He also noted that it is difficult to disclose further information within a few hours and emphasised that the Police have carried out their duties properly. Responding to journalists’ questions about allegations that a campaign has been launched against the Police for arresting Sallay without properly disclosing the reason, he stated that if the arrest had not been made, there would have been a campaign against the Police for failing to act. Medawatte further said that during future interrogations of Sallay, information about the mastermind behind the 2019 Easter attacks may be uncovered.

Meanwhile, former Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister, President’s Counsel M.U.M. Ali Sabry said that undermining officers who once safeguarded the country may offer temporary political advantage, but that it weakens the morale within the armed forces and sends a troubling signal to those tasked with protecting the Nation. 

Commenting on yesterday’s arrest of Sallay, he said that the Easter Sunday tragedy deserves a professional, evidence based inquiry focused on justice for victims and national security and that instead, what is being witnessed is the transformation of a complex investigation into a “public spectacle”. 

“A troubling day for the Army and its Intelligence Corps,” he said, adding that the arrest of Sallay raises concerns about the direction in which the country’s national discourse is heading. He credited Sallay as an officer widely associated with the dismantling of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam’s intelligence network, intelligence operations that led to the targeting of the senior leadership including S.P. Thamilselvan, and efforts connected to the apprehension of the now-defunct terrorist group’s arms procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias ‘KP’. 

Ali Sabry stressed that these were officers who once placed their lives on the line to protect the Nation during its most dangerous years. “Today, many feel that those same individuals are being drawn into a political battlefield shaped less by evidence and more by competing narratives,” he said in a post on the social media platform X. Ali Sabry emphasised that accountability under the law is essential in any democracy, but that it must be pursued with fairness, restraint, and respect for institutional integrity. 

“The Easter Sunday tragedy deserved a professional, evidence based inquiry focused on justice for the victims and national security. Instead, what we increasingly witness is the transformation of a complex investigation into a public spectacle.”  He noted that international cooperation, including the extensive involvement of the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States (US) and US authorities, has already taken place with investigations, prosecutions, and assistance provided. 

“When even external partners indicate that further probes may not yield meaningful new outcomes, continuing to weaponise the issue for partisan gain risks damaging Sri Lanka’s credibility and long-term security interests,” Ali Sabry warned. National security institutions cannot become collateral damage in political contests, he asserted. “Undermining officers who once safeguarded the country may offer temporary political advantage, but, it weakens the morale within the armed forces and sends a troubling signal to those tasked with protecting the Nation.” 

Ali Sabry added that Sri Lanka must pursue truth and justice, but through law, evidence, and responsible leadership, “not through theatrics designed to mislead or divide.” “History will judge not only those who served in difficult times, but also those who chose to politicise matters that demanded unity and maturity,” he said.