Journalists file FR petition against unlawful imposition of police curfew on July 8

● The curfew was imposed with an ulterior motive of disrupting a scheduled mass protest on Saturday and to prevent the public from taking part in it

Two journalists in the forefront of the Galle Face aragalaya filed a petition in the Supreme Court saying their fundamental rights were violated by the unlawful imposition of police curfew on July 08.

Journalists Tharindu Jayawardena and Tharindu Uduwaragedara representing the Sri Lanka Young Journalists Association (SLYJA) have filled the FR petition at the SC on Friday (05).

Inspector General of Police C.d.wic kr amara tn ea nd the Attorney General had been named as respondents of this case filled through the Attorneys Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ramzi Bacha.

According to the petition the respondent IGP had imposed curfew at 8.00pm on Friday, July 08th through a notice announcing not to travel in a set of areas or to travel via those area. Another announcement had been made on the following morning that the curfew will be lifted at 6.00am on Saturday, July 09th.

The petitioners state that imposition of police curfew is illegal, which does not have a legal basis to do so. Also, they stated that the curfew was imposed with an ulterior motive of disrupting a scheduled mass protest on Saturday and to prevent the public from taking part in it.

The first respondent’s arbitrary decision of imposing an illegal police curfew had disrupted public transportation including trains and buses causing a severe inconvenience to the commuters, thus the fundamental rights of the people as well as the petitioners, which had been protected by the Constitution are violated.