Covert pressure on the judiciary; Dayasiri Jayasekara
26-Aug-2025.
The President has defined that equality before the law applies only to members of the opposition. Sudath, a YouTuber associated with the People’s Liberation Front, has interfered in judicial proceedings. This constitutes covert pressure on the judiciary, stated Dayasiri Jayasekara, Member of Parliament from the United People’s Power party.
He made this statement during a media briefing with opposition parties held in Colombo on August 24.
He further added, “To prevent the government from undermining constitutional authority, everyone must unite politically, beyond party lines. Additionally, special privileges for Presidents were abolished.
When the country faced a banking crisis in 2022, the former President personally assumed responsibility for the challenges and restored the nation in a short period. This honor should be recognized. The administration should not forget that Ranil Wickremesinghe created conditions for increased foreign reserves.
Actions against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe have been taken through an anti-corruption committee appointed at the ministerial level. Members of the People’s Liberation Front are part of this committee. Members from the Battaramulla party office were appointed to the committee by the President.
The monitoring at the Battaramulla party office was directed by an individual known as ‘P.R.’. This fully exposes the political vengeance involved.
The actions of the YouTuber Sudath constitute severe intimidation of the judiciary. Before the arrest of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, he publicly stated that Wickremesinghe would serve 14 days in prison and threatened to resign from YouTube if this did not happen. This individual acts solely on behalf of the People’s Liberation Front. Such statements cannot exert covert pressure on judges.
The President has defined that equality before the law applies only to opposition members. Allegations filed against ministers and deputy ministers of this government have been dismissed by law. This is a completely improper action.”
