Lawyer Hizbulla, Madrasa principal remanded

By A. J. A. Abeynayake

Lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah, accused of aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday bombers and engaging in activities deemed detrimental to the religious harmony, and Principal of Al-Zuhriya Arabic College in Puttalam, Mohommad Shakeel were remanded till 03 March by Fort Magistrate, Priyantha Liyanage.

Hizbullah was a board member of Shakeel’s school.Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris told the court that the suspects had lured 56 young boys from poor families by promising to make them moulavis; 26 of the children were from Colombo and its suburbs. The boys had been trained to become extremists in the mould of NTJ leader Zahran Hashim, the court was told.

Magistrate Liyanage remanded the two, based on the DSG’s statement.The Deputy Solicitor General told the court that the real intentions of the suspects had been revealed by the evidence given by the boys who studied at the madrasa. The boys were between the ages of five and 14. Sarah Jasmin, who fled the country after the attack, had also been involved in teaching extremism for the students, he said.Deputy Solicitor General told the court that a number of individuals who took part in the Easter Sunday attacks, including Zahran Hashim and his brother Rilwan had visited the school, brainwashed the boys and trained them as militants.The suicide bomber who blew himself up at Cinnamon Grand was a Treasurer of Save the Pearls Organization headed by Hizbullah. The suicide bomber had spent a large amount of money on the organisation and also bought it a land encompassing 108 perches at Madurankuliya, Peiris said.The Save the Pearls Organization had also received Rs. 27.6 million from a Qatar-based organization, linked to extremism, the Deputy Solicitor General said. A separate inquiry had already commenced under the Money Laundering Act, he said, adding that 16 boys who underwent military training and indoctrination classes at the school had already given statements to the court and investigation officers.Deputy Solicitor General added that an organised group had visited the majority of the children and taken affidavits claiming that their statements given to investigators had not been made voluntarily. He said that threats and inducements had been used to obtain the affidavits.

The AG had instructed investigators to arrest the suspects and produce them in court after studying over 1,200 pages of investigation documents, Peiris said. The AG also felt that a case could be charged against the suspects, Peiris said.Deputy Solicitor General said that attempting to create religious and ethnic animosity is a serious offense and urged the court to remand them.Attorney Niran Anketell who represented Hizbullah, denied the allegations leveled against his client and said that a magistrate has no power to give a verdict on suspects arrested under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) act. Anketell added that the detention order against Hizbullah is still valid and thus the magistrate could not remand him.Anketell said that the CID had recorded more than 50 statements from Hizbullah and nearly 116 persons were given statements about the operation of the Madrasa School.”The CID had only submitted selected statements to the Court and due to that matter, the Magistrate cannot give a fair conclusion about the remand order,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Magistrate said that the CID is obligated to submit everything related to the case and directed the CID to submit a summary containing every fact reported about the case on the next hearing date.