Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa has said the law is enforced equally for everyone through the judicial process and that the government does not interfere in judicial decisions, NewsFirst reported on Thursday evening. He was speaking after a meeting held the previous day.
Jayatissa, who serves as Cabinet spokesman alongside his health and media portfolios, said legal action is taken in accordance with the law, with investigations conducted by the Police, the Financial Crimes Investigation Division, the Criminal Investigation Department and the Bribery Commission before matters are referred to court.
Decisions on bail, on remanding suspects and on other proceedings are matters for the independent judiciary, he said, where suspects can present their case through their lawyers. Those decisions are based on the evidence before the courts.
The government’s responsibility, he said, is to provide the infrastructure and support needed for the law to be enforced effectively. Anyone who wants to challenge or raise concerns about proceedings can use established legal and institutional channels.
The argument he is answering
Jayatissa did not name anyone, and NewsFirst does not say what prompted the remarks. They land in the middle of a running dispute over whether prosecutions of opposition figures are being driven politically.
A day earlier, SLPP head of operations Johnston Fernando accused officials of fabricating evidence to target government opponents, saying that “remanding and imprisoning those who oppose or challenge the government is this administration’s policy”. Fernando drew a careful distinction — he said he had confidence in the judiciary, and that the problem lay with officials who he claimed leave courts powerless by presenting false evidence.
Jayatissa’s answer engages the opposite half of that argument. He defends the investigating agencies and points to the courts’ independence, rather than addressing the specific claim that evidence has been manufactured.
The exchange follows a sequence of court appearances by senior opposition figures, including the bail granted to Namal Rajapaksa in a money-laundering case at the Fort Magistrate’s Court on 30 September.
Not a new statement
This is a position Jayatissa has stated repeatedly rather than a fresh policy announcement. He made closely similar arguments in early September, when he rejected Namal Rajapaksa’s claim that moves to arrest him were politically motivated, saying the measures were based on court proceedings; and again in late September, when he defended police action over the removal of a statue as lawful rather than political.
Readers should treat the wording as a restatement of a standing government line, not as a response to any one case.
Not reported
NewsFirst does not identify the meeting Jayatissa was speaking after, does not say which case or cases he had in mind, and carries no response from the opposition. No other verified newsroom had filed on the remarks at the time of writing.
