Former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva stated that President Mahinda Rajapaksa should afford Sarath Fonseka the same justice and fundamental rights given to him in the past by the courts.

 

Speaking at a public petition signing campaign at the J.R. Jayawardena Centre today (25 October) he added that without the past intervention of the courts the President would not be holding his current position.

 

Mr. Silva reminded that their were different criminal charges brought up against Mahinda Rajapaksa to which justice was metted out by courts.

 

However even the rights given to a dangerous criminal charged with murder is not being given to Fonseka, he added.

 

Sarath N. Silva stated that while President Rajapaksa was contesting in the 2005 Presidential Election he faced charges of fraudulently taking 78 Million rupees through the ‘Helping Hambantota’ project.

 

He added that while a case was being herd at the Fort Magistrate’s Court regarding the issue and steps were being taken to arrest him Rajapaksa filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition at the Supreme Court.

 

The Supreme Court panel which took up the FR petition filed by Mahinda Rajapaksa was headed by me, he said.

 

“However it was proven that the person who filed the ‘Helping Hambantota’ case had no basic knowledge about the issue and that the case was filed based on a political reprisal, thus the panel of judges opted to give a verdict prohibiting the arrest of Rajapaksa” the former Chief Justice said.  

 

If the President had not been treated justly in this manner by the law he would have been arrested and therefore would have been unable to contest in the 2005 Presidential Election, he pointed out.