The Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) said it would seek legal assistance at the Court of Appeal against the Tamil UNP MP Vijayakala Maheswaran, saying that the police have mishandled her case in allowing her bail.
Maheswaran was arrested last week over a speech she gave earlier this year in which she said rising crime rates in the North-East made Tamils long for the return of the LTTE. The MP was released on bail the same day.
Listing the legal provisions that Maheswaran’s speech purportedly violated, the PHU ‘propaganda secretary’ said:
“According to the Article 3 (3) of the ICCPR, a person who shall, directly or indirectly support or advocate the establishment of a separate State within the territory of Sri Lanka, is subject to a Rigorous Imprisonment less than 10 years.”
“According to the Article 3 (4), bail can’t be granted to such offences and it can be only granted by the High Court under special circumstances.”