Description

Civil Society Activist and President of the Ceylon Motorcyclists’ Association Chiranthana
Amarasinghe was arrested by the Cinnamon Gardens police on 27th February 2023, while
attempting to hand over a right to information (RTI) request to the State Intelligence Service
(SIS) concerning a report issued about him. Through RTI request, he has requested a copy of
an intelligence report allegedly made by SIS that led to his arrest in November 2020 for
criticising the President and mandatory cremation policy of COVID19 victims in Sri Lanka. He
has filed a fundamental rights petition at the Supreme Court regarding his previous arrest.
Though he has invited the journalists to cover the event of him handing over the RTI request
to the SIS head office, the journalists have not been allowed to cover the event by security
personnel there. Also, SIS officials have declined to accept his RTI request, arrested and
handed him over to the Cinnamon Gardens Police station located in close proximity. He
alleged that he was assaulted, stripped naked, sexually harassed and denied of medical
treatment during the detention. He was produced before the Colombo Magistrate
Prasanna Alwis on 27th February and granted bail for Rs. 50,000 surety bail. The Police
accused him of acting against the Government with the intention of provoking the public, and
the criminal coercion of Government employees. Magistrate denied the request made by the
police to detain him further to be produced for a psychiatric evaluation.