Udaya Gammanpila files petition to prevent arrest

Udaya Prabhath Gammanpila

Former Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila has filed a petition before the Court of Appeal seeking an order to prevent his arrest under the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act.

The petition was submitted through his legal counsel and names the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security, Ravi Seneviratne, the Inspector General of Police, Priyantha Weerasooriya, and several others as respondents.

Gammanpila, who is currently in Thailand, filed the writ petition through his lawyer in response to moves by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest him over a statement he made to a Sinhala newspaper regarding the arrest of former Navy Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne.

In his petition, Gammanpila points out that on August 27, 2025, several news reports indicated that the CID had informed the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court about an ongoing investigation to determine whether his remarks amounted to an offence under Section 3(1) of the ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007 and Section 120 of the Penal Code.