EX-SIS chief insists he could not inform President Sirisena of Easter Sunday intelligence

By AJA Abeynayake

Former State Intelligence Service head and incumbent Senior DIG of the Central Province Nilantha Jayawardena told the court yesterday that information received from foreign agencies of possible terror attacks on Easter Sunday could not be processed into intelligence.

Therefore, he had not been able to hand over an intelligence report on the matter to the then IGP Pujith Jayasundera, SDIG Jayawardena said.

SDIG Jayawardena testified at the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar in the case filed against former IGP Pujith Jayasundara and former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, who are charged under 855 counts individually with failing to prevent the 2019 April 21 terror attacks.

Jayawardena also said that he did not report the matter as an intelligence report to the then political administration including President, the Prime Minister or State Defence Minister. He said so in answer to questions by Attorney-at-Law Roshan Dehiwela, counsel for former IGP Jayasundera.

Jayawardena said it had not been possible to develop information about possible attacks received from foreign sources on April 04, 2019 into an intelligence report by April 21, 2019. Information could not be converted into intelligence as per the wish of intelligence agencies, he added.

He said that he had written to investigating agencies including the CID that religious extremists led by Zahran should be arrested.

He however admitted in the court that a suspect could not be taken into custody solely on the basis of an intelligence report.

Asked whether he at least tried to send an SMS to the President about such a warning, Jayawardena said that he had tried to connect the President via the telephone operators at the President’s House but he could not send an SMS to the latter, who did not use a mobile phone.

The case that was taken up in the presence of Justices Namal Balalle, Aditya Patabendige, and Mohamed Irshadeen was postponed to 18 Jan, 2022. In addition to DIG Jayawardena, IGP C. D. Wickramaratne also testified in court yesterday.

IGP Wickramaratne told the court that the Inspector General of Police must conduct investigations on intelligence received and then follow up to protect the country.

“In order to take action on the information given by the State Intelligence Service, those pieces of information need not be definite intel. They need not be 100% accurate. There needs to be faith in the information and quick response is needed,” the IGP testified in court.

The Inspector General of Police was not just a public officer paid by the state and he was responsible for maintaining law and order and safeguarding national security, the IGP said, adding that the police chief must personally look into the intelligence information concerning national security.