AG receives 65 volumes of Easter attack commission proceedings
Posted on March 2nd, 2021
Courtesy Adaderana
The Attorney General has received 65 volumes of the proceedings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) which probed the Easter Sunday terror attacks from the Presidential Secretary today (March 02).
The Presidential Commission has handed over a total of 87 volumes containing its proceedings to the Presidential Secretary, Coordination officer of the Attorney General State Counsel Nishara Jayaratne stated.
However, 22 volumes have not been handed over due to the sensitive nature of evidence pertaining to national security, she said further.
Attorney General has noted that thousands of pages of investigative material pertaining to the 08 terror attacks, nearly 30,000 pages of evidence recorded by the Presidential Commission and Parliament Select Committee which probed the matter will be studied further.
Volume 01 of the report was handed over to the Attorney General on the 25th of February. However, the Attorney General had requested the President’s Secretary to submit all proceedings, documents and materials of the commission to the Attorney General’s Department.
Attorney General Dappula De Livera on February 12 had requested for a copy of the final report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry from the Secretary to the President in order to consider forwarding charges against the suspects.
The Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks handed over its final report to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on February 01.
Hearings and other procedures of the Presidential Commission officially came to a conclusion on January 27, 2021.
The Commission was appointed by former President Maithripala Sirisena on September 22nd, 2019 to investigate the series of attacks that took place on Easter Sunday same year and to recommend necessary actions.
The commission had recorded evidence from a total of 440 individuals during its term.
The commission was chaired by Court of Appeal Judge, Janak de Silva and included Court of Appeal Judge, Nishshanka Bandula Karunarathna, Retired High Court Judges Nihal Sunil Rajapaksa and A.L. Bandula Kumara Atapattu, former Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, W.M.M.R. Adikari.