Udaya asks how President predicted Easter Sunday case could be over in a month

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila expressed confusion over President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's recent assertion that the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks case would be resolved within a month. During a press conference at his Pita Kotte office, Gammanpila questioned how the President could make such a forecast, noting that the case had already been addressed before the High Court Trial-at-Bar.

The PHU leader pointed out that President Dissanayake made the declaration during a meeting with the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and questioned why the President had justified delaying the appointment of fresh judges to prevent them from missing out on promotions. Gammanpila expressed concern that the President's decision could hinder the senior judges' ability to hear the case.

The High Court Trial-at-Bar bench includes Nawaratne Marasinghe, Sujeewa Nissanka, and Ramanathan Kannan. President Dissanayake met a high-ranking BASL delegation led by Rajeev Amarasuriya at the Presidential Secretariat on 12 August. Gammanpila emphasized that concluding the case within a month was unrealistic, as the prosecution had presented evidence over 547 days, spanning five years.

During the trial, 1,500 witnesses testified, and 23,270 indictments were filed against the 24 accused. The prosecution submitted 2,076 court productions, including documents, bomb-making material, and evidence gathered through witnesses. Ten confessions given by the accused under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) were also presented.

However, the court ruled that one confession given by accused Mohamed Firdauz was inadmissible as it was not voluntary.