Pillayan Is A Patriot Who Fought Against LTTE, Says Gammanpila

COLOMBO (News 1st); Attorney-at-Law Udaya Prabhath Gammanpila has come forward to defend Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, also known as Pillayan, asserting that he is a true patriot.

Gammanpila emphasized that Pillayan has not made any statements regarding the Easter Sunday attacks.

Gammanpila recounted an incident on April 9th, when a junior lawyer from Pillayan's legal team was denied access to meet him at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Upon learning of this, Gammanpila informed Pillayan's family and took steps to address the issue through proper legal channels. He explained the situation to the CID Director, who requested a written application for the meeting. After submitting the formal request, Gammanpila was granted permission to meet Pillayan on April 13th, the day before the New Year. The meeting lasted 30 minutes and took place in the presence of four police officers.

Gammanpila highlighted Pillayan's significant role in abandoning LTTE terrorism and fighting against it for the sake of the country. He stressed the importance of recognizing Pillayan's contributions and questioned the current charges against him. Pillayan was reportedly unaware of the accusation that he was involved in the disappearance of Professor S. Ravindranath, the then Vice-Chancellor of Eastern University, in December 2006.

Regarding the Easter Sunday attacks, Gammanpila clarified that Pillayan had no knowledge or involvement.

He expressed concern over the police's methods, suggesting that they were attempting to create an Easter Sunday mastermind through coercive tactics.