Wimal Weerawansa arrested
MP Wimal Weerawansa has been arrested and will be produced before the Negombo Magistrate Court after a statement is recorded, Police Spokesman told media.
Earlier today UPFA MP Wimal Weerawansa was stopped by CID officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake for questioning over an issue with his passport.
The former Minister said that he was preparing to travel to Europe this morning for a series of lectures, following an invitation from Sri Lankan expatriates in Dubai and Italy, when he was stopped by the CID officers.
Weerawansa said that upon arriving at the airport he realized that the passport in his possession was one that he had lost and later found after obtaining a new passport.
The MP said that he was asked by airport authorities to return with the new passport which had the correct visa stamp.
Weerawansa said that when he returned to the airport with his new passport at around 8.30am today, several CID officers proceeded to question him.
He accused the officers of attempting to prevent his foreign tour.
However, airport sources say that using an expired passport to fly abroad is a crime and that an inquiry will be carried out to determine whether the MP had committed a mistake.
(Source: Ada Derana)
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“”However, airport sources say that using an expired passport to fly abroad is a crime and that an inquiry will be carried out to determine whether the MP had committed a mistake.””
I fail to understand this law. May be somebody in this forum will be kind enough to explain this.
As far as I understand:
a) if this guy left SL using the wrong passport and landed somewhere, it is wrong.
b) if this guy did not produce his passport at the Immigration and Immigration checkpoint and tried to slip through and board a plain it is wrong.
c). if this guy wait in the queue and when he got his turn, gave the passport to the officer in the checkpoint and found it to be a cancelled/invalid/expired one and then he was able to explain and produce the valid one (assuming he had informed before the passport in question was lost), how the hell an expired passport being given for checking at the checkpoint (isn’t that the whole purpose of a checkpoint being there?) is a crime unless there is a dedicated spy unit hanging around him to make his life hell for being a critic of the regime??
Indra, you are barking up the wrong tree.
Many including the PM and MP’s have forgotten that it is Yahapalana Yugaya.
First, when you loose your passport which is a primary identification document, you have to report the loss to the Police and produce a Police report to Immigration for a new passport. Replacing a lost passport is a complex process.
In the previous Yugaya, these procedures were overlooked; a Minister rings up immigration and requests a new passport because the passport he has, cannot be found and perhaps, he was in the Royal entourage of 200 persons visiting western capital. The machangs in Immigration would issue a passport (maybe a diplomatic one) in express time to satisfy the Mathithuma.
In this instance, when WW turned up in BIA with a passport which has been reported lost, Immigration and CID have every right (in the Yahapala Yugaya) to pounce on this fraudster.
Well, that’s what appeared to have happened to WW who was going to Dubai and other locations to lecture on the misdeeds happening in the Yahapala Yugaya!
Three hearty cheers to IGP Illangakoon and his boys for doing their job, properly, according to the laws of the land.
Hon RW attempted to intervene on behalf of WW to permit his travel. What a shame! Hon RW appears to have forgotten that we are now in the Yahapalana Yugaya where all are equal in the eyes of the law. Hon RW ends this episode with egg on his face. If he is a true democrat, he should promptly resign his job having perverted the course of justice by intervening on behalf of WW, an opposition firebrand, who in the eyes of the law, is a fraudster in possession of a passport that was ‘lost’ and replaced. Perhaps, Hon RW was hoping for a few brownie points by ‘saving’ an opposition firebrand.
Let IGP Illangakoon do his job and the PM should be reminded to do his job and not interfere in the passage of justice.
Below I quote previleges parliamentarians are entitled to in connection with arrests. I am sure that the Sri Lankan Parliamentarians entitled to the same for the original Sri Lanka constitution was enacted by the British. Considering that Sri Lanka is not a Police State.
Parliamentary privilege in the United Kingdom is a legal immunity enjoyed by Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords designed to ensure that Parliamentarians are able to carry out their duties free from interference. The privileges are freedom of speech, freedom from arrest on civil matters, freedom of access to the sovereign and that ‘the most favourable construction should be placed on all the Houses’s proceedings’.
European Union Parliament
1.1.2. Immunity from prosecution, arrest and detention (Article 9, PPI)
According to the Court of Justice,11 the objective of Article 9 of the Protocol is to safeguard
the independence of Members by ensuring that pressure, in the form of threats of arrest or
legal proceedings, is not brought to bear on them during the sessions of the Parliament. It
is therefore clear that this immunity falls under the category of personal immunity, also
referred to as immunity ratione personae, or inviolability (inviolabilité in French,
US Congress members
The Privilege from Arrest Clause provides a Member of Congress a privilege from civil arrest only, but not from other civil processes. Even the privilege from civil arrest would be valid only while Congress is in session.
Indian Parliamentary Memebers
Unverletzlichkeit or Unverfolgbarkeit in German, improcedibilità or inviolabilità in Italian).
Ganjapani, If you are too dumb to understand that I asked a clear question, better keep your stupid mouth shut if you are unable to post anything other than clap trap. Most of the stuff you have written your level of intelligence.
May be the Jahapalana MPs and Ministers now queue up to get their passports as the rest of the public and you are selling them bottled water to quench their thirst.
Your Illangakoon and his officers do not appear to be such heroes to my eyes. This a black and white case. As alleged, WW committed a criminal offence. Then why has he not been taken to the court and prosecuted. It is either your hero putting his tail between legs and cowing to politicians orders or harassing somebody because of political beliefs on behalf of his political masters.