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| Sunday, 02 March 2003 |
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UN Rapporteur highly critical of judiciary by Deepal Warnakulasuriya The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession, Dato Param Cumaraswamy condemned the imprisonment of Anthony Michael Emmanuel Fernando and said that he will be informing the UN Human Rights Commission about the unjust imprisonment of a person who had come to courts seeking justice. Cumaraswamy, who was on an official visit to Sri Lanka made known his displeasure at a media briefing where he said that the court action had attacked the independence of the Judiciary system and the Law. He also said that he was surprised to hear some of the court cases. "I was stunned and surprised to hear that a trade unionist who had come to courts for justice had been served injustice", he said. The petitioner, Fernando who had filed a fundamental rights case was imprisoned for one year for contempt of court, following his demand that the Chief Justice be removed from the Panel of judges, hearing the case, Fernando was subsequently assaulted in prison, and is now hospitalised. Cumaraswamy who visited Fernando at the General Hospital, Colombo said that he didn't know what crime Fernando had committed to warrant him one year imprisonment. "He also had been tied to a bar with an iron chain and he had been attacked in a prison van. I was informed that three officers had been suspended on the issue. But, I am not sure," Cumaraswamy added. Pointing out that as well as the independence of the judiciary, lawyers and judges must also be concerned about the accountability of Judges. He asked why the Bar Association of Sri Lanka or any other organisation failed to rush to the petitioner and help him. Cumaraswamy also pointed out that the CJ had refused an AGM of Judges and had summoned a compulsory meeting for judges attacking their rights of association and meeting. "This kind of things would definitely bring a black mark on Sri Lankan Judiciary and several countries have already written to Sri Lanka on the issue. I think, the time has come for law practitioners to wake up", Mr. Cumaraswamy stressed. |
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