The magistrate says it is not necessary to produce Chirantha before a psychiatrist and releases him on bail

Civil society activist Chirantha Amarasinghe, arrested for allegedly committing offences near the State Intelligence Service Headquarters in Colombo, was today granted bail by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court. Colombo Chief Magistrate Prasanna Alwis ordered to release of the suspect on a surety bail of Rs. 50,000 and observed that there is no necessity of producing the suspect before a psychiatric examination as requested by police. Chirantha Amarasinghe had been arrested for committing offences under Section 120 of the Penal Code for allegedly attempting to excite feelings of disaffection toward the president and the government of the Republic and wrongful restraint. Defence counsel told the court that his client had been arrested while attempting to submit a right-to-information request concerning a report issued about him. Senior Counsel Thishya Weragoda appeared with Counsel Prabodha Ratnayake, Achala Seneviratne, Chamara Wannisekara, and Prathap Welikumbura for the suspect. Amarasinghe was previously arrested for urging the public to protest against former President Gotabhaya Rajapakse by posting "gota fail" back in November 2020. Amarasinghe had filed a Fundamental Rights application against the Criminal Investigations Department over the previous arrest, claiming it to be unconstitutional. That matter is scheduled to be supported on 22nd March 2023.