WEB DESK
Former Srilankan minister Sajith Premadasa has said the alleged abduction of a local staff member attached to the Switzerland embassy in Colombo has left a black mark on the country’s history of diplomacy.
Mr Premadasa, who lost the Presidential elections earlier this month, said in a media release on Saturday that it is unfair to criticize a new government as it must be given a considerable period of time to fulfil the mandate but he decided to break his silence taking into consideration the incidents that have followed soon after the new government took office.
Premadasa noted that revenge is being taken against several prominent Police investigators and the media is also being intimidated after being assured freedom of expression and right to information by the former Government.
Meanwhile, police said the Swiss Embassy has submitted the abduction incident-related information in its possession to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for the ongoing investigations.
The Police also denied the allegations that claim the CID is involved in the abduction incident. It was reported that the abductors had identified themselves as CID officers when they had questioned the embassy staffer. However, the Police emphasized this was a statement made by the perpetrators to mislead the investigators.
Swiss Embassy had issued a media release on Friday stating that it has lodged a complaint on the matter. The Embassy stressed that it would render its support to the Sri Lankan authorities to proceed with the investigations adding that the victim is not currently in a position to record a statement due to her health condition.