Conviction Quashed Against Death Threat Brigadier; Re-trial soon to follow

Tamil Solidarity and other Diaspora organisations have once again joined hands outside Westminster Magistrates on the 15th of March 2019 to protest against the ‘Death Threat’ Brigadier Priyanga Fernando.

TS activists are on the march against the unlawful acts committed by the Brigadier and have gathered again in great numbers outside the magistrates voicing out slogans such as ‘we demand right to protest’ and ‘arrest Priyanga Fernando immediately’ along with other valid demands raised by the activists and protestors.

Mid morning it has been concluded that the conviction is to be expunged, as under section 142 the defendant P. Fernando has been given the benefit that the court would have proceeded completely different. In other words the conviction has been quashed on a technicality due to series of procedural mistakes, even though the prosecution vehemently stated the GOSL and the SL high commissioner in the UK have  been communicated with the specified dates with regards to the court hearing following the appropriate procedure.

This now will evidently lead to a re-trial and the courts have decided that it would not take place today but will have an informal decision making on the retrial, to estimate time and other specifics that are important to the case. The date of the re-trial has been set for the 7th of May 2019 at 2 pm. 

Following today’s session at court, various diplomats from SL were asked to comment by media personnel outside the Magistrates. The media team were in for a shocker over what came next from one of their diplomats, which can be viewed on the video below.

we urge Tamils living in the UK to take a proactive approach in supporting TS and other diaspora activists and protestors, who have been tirelessly advocating for the democratic rights of Tamils and other oppressed people living in Sri Lanka and in the UK.

 

ketheswaran. S