Sirisena submits records of treatment received on 20 and 21 April 2019

By Rathindra Kuruwita

Former President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday submitted to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCoI) investigating the Easter Sunday attacks, medical reports issued by a Singapore hospital during his stay there on April 20 and 21, 2019.

Presenting his medical reports, through his lawyer Maithri Gunaratne, PC, the former President urged the PCoI to keep those documents for the use of the PCoI only.

“These are extremely personal to me. So, I kindly request the PCoI to treat them with utmost confidentiality,” Sirisena said. After a brief discussion, all five Commissioners agreed to Sirisena’s request.

Anura Meddagoda, PC representing former IGP, Pujith Jayasundara, asked the PCoI to let him also peruse the medical reports.

The Chairman of the PCoI denied this request saying that they had allowed certain parties that might be mentioned by witnesses to be present at the PCoI to ensure that those parties were not aggrieved.

Meddagoda said: “I don’t want to go through the medical aspects. I just want to see if the former President had been undergoing treatment at this Singapore hospital on April 20 and 21 of 2019.”

The Chairman said: “The five of us are competent enough to go through these documents and determine if the former President had been undergoing treatment on those days.”

Earlier, Shamil Perera, PC appearing for the Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith asked Sirisena whether he could submit those medical reports when the latter said former SIS Director Nilantha Jayewardena had tried to reach him on April 20 and 21 while he was receiving treatment at a hospital in Singapore.

It was revealed that a 159-second telephone conversation had taken place between Jayewardena and Sirisena or Sirisena’s PSO at 7.59 a.m. on April 21, 2019. Perera also asked Sirisena whether Jayewardena had given him a call at around 6.16 p.m. on 20 April. Sirisena said he was receiving treatment in a Singaporean hospital at that time and not even his personal security officers had been able to approach him that day.

Counsel Perera then said that the telephone records clearly stated that Sirisena had called the former SIS Director at around 7.59 am on April 21, 2019. This was before the Easter Sunday attacks. Sirisena said that he had first contacted Jayewardena only after the bombings.

The President’s Counsel told the Commission that despite Sirisena’s statement the phone records showed that Sirisena had made a large number of telephone calls on April 21 morning.

Former President said: “I don’t know what is mentioned in this report but I was in the hospital on 21 April morning. It was not possible for me to make phone calls while undergoing treatment. I had come back to the hotel when I heard about the attacks.”