Appeals Court dismisses Riyaj Bathiudeen’s writ application

The Court of Appeal has dismissed the writ application filed by MP Rishad Bathiudeen’s brother, Riyaj Bathiudeen seeking the prevention of his re-arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The writ application was taken up before Appeals Court justices, Mahinda Samayawardhane and Arjuna Obeysekara this morning (21). Delivering the verdict, the judge bench decided to dismiss the petition without a fee.

Riyaj Bathiudeen was taken into custody on the 14th of April this year while in Puttalam. After five months into the arrest, he was released by the CID on the 29th of September citing a lack of evidence to file a case against him.

Filing the writ application challenging the CID’s attempts to re-arrest him, Riyaj Bathiudeen said he was apprehended on the 14th of April this year on in connection of the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks and was held under custody for a long time on a detention order.

The Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), former DIG in charge of the CID Nuwan Wedasinghe, Director of the CID Prasanna de Alwis, Chief Inspector of CID Mihindu Abeysinghe and seven others were named as its respondents.

He pointed out that during the detention period, the CID sleuths had conducted extensive investigations into his residences, properties, businesses, bank accounts and was subsequently released as there was no evidence to substantiate any criminal charges against him.

Despite this, various parties are pressurizing for him to be re-arrested for political reasons, Bathiudeen stated. The petitioner had further noted that there is a reasonable fear that he may be re-arrested as a result.

In the meantime, an interim petition was filed seeking the Court of Appeal to revoke the writ application put forward by Riyaj Bathiudeen to prevent him from being re-arrested.

The Director of Seth Sarana Caritas Colombo, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Ramanayake had lodged the interim petition on behalf of Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith.