CID ordered to submit progress report on probes on Swiss Embassy staffer’s phone
Posted on February 11th, 2020
Courtesy Ada Derana
The Colombo Magistrate’s Court has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to obtain the Government Analyst’s report on the mobile phone of the Swiss Embassy staffer, Garnia Bannister Francis, and to submit a progress report on the investigations on March 31.
The case was taken up before Colombo Magistrate Lanka Jayaratne today (11).
Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama, speaking on behalf of the CID, told the court that a statement with regard to the details uncovered during the probes was recorded from the former Director of the CID SSP Shani Abeysekara on January 23.
She added that the probes had recovered a contact number from the phone of former editor of Sunday Observer newspaper Darisha Bastian, which belonged to the current editor of the said newspaper, Anurangi Priyamvada Singh. Accordingly, the CID has recorded a statement from Priyamvada Singh yesterday (10), the senior state counsel further told the court.
Attorney-at-Law Upul Kumarapperuma, the defence counsel, told the court that his client’s defence statement is based on the data that is stored in her mobile phone. He, hence, requested the court to issue a decree that these data, recorded from May 01 to November 25 last year, be kept secured.
The chief magistrate has then informed the defence counsel to make this request in writing during the next hearing of the case.
The case was then scheduled to be taken up on the 31st of March.
It is also reported that the Garnia Bannister Francis appeared before the court today for the hearing.