The Dehiwala Police have rejected the request of the Additional Magistrate to release the youth, who was arrested by the Dehiwala Police for sharing a video of him trampling on an Israeli flag on his Instagram account using social media and has been remanded for over nine months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, as investigations have revealed that he has not committed a crime under the Act.

In a context where the Dehiwala Police have taken steps to obtain legal advice by preparing extracts regarding this suspect on May 27th, referring it to the Legal Division and the Attorney General, Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate Hemali Halpandeniya has rejected the request of the Police, pointing out that the Magistrate’s Court does not have the power to grant bail to the suspect arrested under the Terrorism Act without the advice of the Attorney General.

The Magistrate has asked the Dehiwala Police why they have previously reported to the court that they have evidence that the suspect has committed an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and why they are saying that there is no evidence that the suspect has committed an offence under the Terrorism Act after nine months.

The magistrate ordered the police to inform the Attorney General through the Law Division if no crime is detected against the suspect under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and said that she would act on the instructions of the Attorney General.

Mohamed Rifai Mohamed Suhail, a 21-year-old youth, is a resident of Mawanella. Dehiwala Police had arrested him at his home in Mawanella on October 25 and had filed false charges under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and produced him before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate’s Court.

After Suhail was arrested, a youth named Rushdie from Mawanella was arrested by the Slave Island Police and detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He had been arrested on the charge of pasting a sticker with the words “Fuck Israel” on a garbage bin in the shopping complex where he worked. The authorities were forced to release him on bail in the face of protests against Rushdie’s arrest.

Suhail was first arrested by the Dehiwala police on October 23. He was arrested when he went to the Dehiwala area to look for a rented room. The police had produced Suhail before Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate Hemali Halpandeniya on charges of not being in possession of a national identity card, and Suhail’s father had been acquitted and released after producing his son’s national identity card in court. On the night of his release, the Dehiwala police had gone to Suhail’s house in Mawanella before Suhail and his father went home, arrested Suhail his parents objected, they had lured him away on the promise of obtaining a statement and releasing him.

The magistrate ordered the case to be re-summoned on July 15 and ordered the prison superintendent to summon Suhail to court on that day. The suspect’s rights were represented by lawyers Geethma Fernando, Rashad Ahmed, Ilham Hassan Ali and Mohamed Farzan.

This news was prepared with the support of BBC Sinhala.