Case against Wimal Weerawansa over protest near UN office postponed

The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered that the further hearing of the case filed against six suspects, including former Minister Wimal Weerawansa, over allegations of causing a public disturbance by staging a protest and obstructing the road in front of the United Nations office in Colombo in 2016, be postponed until September 21.The case was called before Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama, said Ada Derana reporter.Former Minister Wimal Weerawansa, one of the suspects, was not present in court when the case was taken up today. His counsel informed the court that Weerawansa was suffering from an illness and that the relevant medical report would be submitted to the court.After considering the facts presented, the Chief Magistrate ordered that the case be called again on September 21.The Cinnamon Gardens Police had filed the case, alleging that a public disturbance was caused by a protest that blocked Thummulla and surrounding roads in front of the UN office in Colombo on February 6, 2016, during the visit of then UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to Sri Lanka.The case has also been filed against suspects Jayantha Samaraweera, Weerakumara Dissanayake, Piyasiri Wijenayake, Roger Seneviratne, and Mohamed Muzammil.