Sri Lankan court says no need to issue an arrest warrant on governing party MP

A Sri Lankan court today (08) said there was no need to issue an arrest warrant on governing party parliamentarian Duminda Silva who is charged in the murder of a former parliamentarian. Colombo Additional Magistrate Prasanna Alwis has said that there was no need to issue an arrest warrant, since the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) has not informed any difficulty in arresting MP Silva.
The Magistrate had made this statement when the case involving the murder of Presidential Advisor Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra and three others on October 8, 2011 was taken up for hearing today. Silva, who is currently receiving medical treatment in Singapore for injuries he received during the shootout that killed Premachandra and others, is one of the main suspects in the murder case. Lawyer appearing for the suspects has said that Premachandra's daughter, Hirunika Premachandra was speaking of threats on her life in order to prevent bail from being granted to the suspects. However, the CID has informed the court that an investigation is being carried out into the death threats. Meanwhile, the Colombo High Court judge Sunil Rajapaksa today ruled that MP Silva can have legal representation in the murder case against him. Accordingly, MP Silva will be represented by lawyer Hemantha Warnakulasuriya in the Premachandra murder case. The Colombo additional magistrate has earlier ruled out legal representation for the injured MP following objections by the plaintiff's lawyer Tirantha Waraliyadde.