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Colombo, Jun 6 (PTI) The wife of former Sri Lankan intelligence chief Suresh Sallay has alleged that he is being subjected to inhuman treatment in detention and he has begun a fast unto death in protest, according to a letter addressed to the country’s police chief.
In the letter sent on Saturday, Manori Sallay alleged that her husband has been subjected to “torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” since his detention in February and called for an immediate criminal investigation into his continued detention.
She said her husband began a fast unto death on Saturday to protest what she described as his degrading treatment in custody.
She also requested that her husband be examined by a Judicial Medical Officer to assess his physical and mental
condition, alleging that his health had deteriorated during detention.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
Suresh Sallay, a retired major general and former head of Sri Lanka’s State Intelligence Service, was detained by the police on February 25, as part of a reopened investigation into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings.
It was a series of coordinated suicide attacks on churches and luxury hotels that killed 270 people, including foreign nationals, and wounded hundreds more.
The former Sri Lankan government had faced criticism for failing to prevent the attacks despite intelligence warnings from India about an imminent threat.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government, which came to power in 2024, reopened investigations into the attacks, saying political interference may have hampered earlier probes.
Sallay is among the most senior former security officials to be detained in connection with the attacks. Authorities have been questioning him as part of efforts to identify those responsible for planning and facilitating the Easter Sunday attacks.
He has denied wrongdoing.
Sallay has also sought a change in his place of detention, alleging that the room where he is being held is small and infested with rodents.
Last week, a court deferred a decision on a request by Sallay to be examined by a Judicial Medical Officer.
State attorneys have opposed claims that Sallay is suffering from depression as a result of alleged degrading treatment in custody, according to court proceedings. PTI CORR ABD ABD
