Catching children as responsible for the Easter-Sunday Attack

 

President Gotabhaya Rajapakshe initiated the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday Attacks immediately after he became the President. Since the said Commission was initiated by the President himself one could say that there is a political inclination to it. But if one says that Criminal Investigations Division that inquiries into the Easter –Sunday attack leads the investigation in a political partisan manner that allegation cannot be discarded like the previous one. It becomes a really serious allegation.

Nevertheless, the said allegation is already leveled against the Criminal Investigations Department. If the investigations related to the Easter Sunday attack, which was a crucial turning point of the elections, are being conducted without transparency is it a certain group of people preparing to act out their script? Before mentioning the allegations leveled against the Criminal Investigations Department it is important to mention certain major facts about this investigation. The police submit facts to the Judiciary and requests a magistrate inquiry into the Easter Sunday attack on the day of the Easter Sunday attack itself i.e. on the 21st of April Two Thousand and Nineteen.

The relevant investigation begins from that day onwards and the Criminal Investigations Department reported facts to the judiciary from time to time after recording statements from various suspects in the incident. STP and Heejaz Accordingly, the investigations conducted by the Criminal investigations Department progressed and on the Fourth of April Two Thousand and Twenty Attorney-at-Law Heejaz Umar Hizbullah is arrested by the Criminal investigations Department. We have written on several prior instances about the arrest of Attorney-at-Law Heejaz Hizbullah and if we are to briefly introduce him he is a politically active lawyer. This itself made several people allege that his arrest has some political need behind it. However, the additional report submitted to the judiciary on the Twelfth of May Two Thousand and Twenty under the signature of the Officer-in-Charge of the Special Investigations Unit No.3, Ms. M.P.N. Deepanee Manike, pursuant to the investigations into him are quite pertinent to commence this article.

The Criminal Investigations Department in the said report mentions that Heejaz Hizbullah has started an organization called Save the Peal Society (STP) and has acted as a founding member and advisor to the same and has acted as its Chairperson from 2018.11.05 onwards and that the said organization has selected twenty four children who are not receiving proper parental care from the Colombo North region and has admitted them to an Arabic Madrasa college in Wanathawilluwa in Puttalam called Al Suhariya, and that these children are taught the Arabic language, the Qur’an, Karate and has conducted lectures for them that fosters extremist ideas in order to carry out destructive activities within the country and has given them a training akin to military training, has shown them videos related to the ISIS terrorist organization, that Saharan Rizwan and Ilham who are responsible for the Easter Sunday attack has conducted lectures in this school and they have demonstrated bombs and weapons to the children and have given a weapon training as well and that lawyer Heejaz Hizbullah has visited this school several times and has shown a video of the war between Israel and Palestine and has stated that Christians in Israel have taken several Muslim mosques hostage and that they will only get scared if the Christians in Sri Lanka are attacked and that suicide bomber Ilham is a member of this organization and has also acted as its treasurer and has bought a land of 108 perches in Madurankuliya Puttalam valued at 19 lakhs from his own money and has erected a building there and has taken steps to train children.

A member of the Trustee Board of the said organization revealed information to us on an anonymous basis. A portion of the said story is related here since that portion corresponds with the said report of the Criminal Investigations Department. The first Treasurer of Save the Pearls Sri Lanka was Ilham. He was removed since he did not carry out his duties properly in the first two years. When we started that rehabilitation program we needed a place for the same. Then Rikaz Hajjiar said that he will look for sponsors. Because he had a lot of connections.

He had spoken to around fifteen sponsors. One day Rikaaz Hajjiar said that one sponsor has agreed to give a land. But he has asked not to reveal his name, and it is a usual ritual within the Muslim community to sponsor on an anonymous basis. Then we got a land of about hundred or hundred and ten perches from Puttalam. It was Ibrahim Hajjiar’s family that had helped. One of Ibrahim’s sons, I still don’t know who he is. Money had been given to the owner and the ownership had been converted to that of ….. It was carried out according to law. No part of that transaction entered the accounts of Save the Pearl Sri Lanka.

 These are the several instances where the Ibrahim family that was said to be connected to the Easter Sunday attack became also connected to the Save the Pearls Sri Lanka. The Cid conducted a full investigation into this matter. They went to these Madrasas, showed the lands, did everything. Then they decided there are no problems there. You have no problem, carry on, what you are doing is good. from 2014 ti 2016 Rikaz Hajjiar was the President, from 2016 to 2018 it was Sh(r)k Najimaan. From 2018 onwards Hizbullah assumed duties. But Hijaaz could not join all the time due to all his work. He was appointed President because he is quite popular so it is easy for us to obtain sponsors.

But he also joined quite willingly. Heejaz and Madrasa The additional report of the Criminal Investigations Department further mentions that they have recorded the statements of 16 children who were being educated in the relevant Madrasa school. Further, that a certain group has taken steps to obtain affidavits to the effect that the Criminal Investigations Department took these statement from the children without consent and that an investigation has commenced in this regard consequent to a police complaint and in addition the Victims and Witnesses Protection Unit has also initiated inquiries. Further, the Criminal Investigations Department reports to the judiciary on 2020.06.18 and the report under the signature of the Officer –in-Charge of the Special Investigations Unit No. 3, Mr. Ravindra Wimalasiri mentions that 10 children identified by their name have given statements to the effect that lawyer Hijaaz Hizbullah visited the Al Suhariya Madrasa College in Puttalam and has conducted lectures and training in a manner that incites hatred against other races and religions. Their statements are included in the report and they mention the same things reported in the above-mentioned additional report. 1. Therefore, these children are given a military training 2. Saharan, Ilham, Mahendran Pulastheen aka Saara have constantly visited this school 3. Hijaaz Hizbullah has come and conducted lectures 4. Bomb and weapons training had been given. These statements are really serious and they suggest that this place had been run as a highly organized terrorism training camp.

Then it is surprising that the security chiefs of the area were not aware of such a training camp being run for years in a popular place. Whatever the facts may be, it was reported to Raavaya that the Criminal Investigations Department is obtaining statements from the relevant children under duress. The related litigation is handled by Attorney-at-Law Nuwan Bopage. Accordingly, we went in search of a few children out of these 26 to investigate the truth of this. CID Violations The relevant children belong to an age group of twelve, thirteen and fourteen years. For their safety we do not reveal their identities. The said children are residents of the Colombo North region. Their families did not have a fixed income at most times and the parents of certain children are imprisoned for drug charges. Further, residing in those areas is clearly a way to jeopardize the future of young children. The mother of one child we met said that giving a school education to the children of these areas is difficult due to this fact and especially due to the financial constraints. His father is in prison. If he stays here he will not learn. He will go out with children and play. There it is not like that. Have to work even if scared.

That’s why we put him in the Madrasa. They showed him photos of people and asked if they visited or not. For those who have visited he had said yes, and for those who did not he had said no. When he says no to those who did not come he is asked why he says they did not come, this person has indeed come. They do not accept when he says no. They took a statement here and then he was taken away for another statement. He has been asked not to lie, that he will be shot, put in jail. He can say he knows the things he actually does know, but things he does not know he cannot say even if he is scared. “They all asked bad things. Were you asked not to speak to Sinhala people? Were you asked not to learn the Sinhala language? If they said that would we be staying in this village? How is it that we speak Sinhala? We even associate with Sinhala people” she says. The child is around thirteen years old. He does not seem too active but he is sitting close to us listening to our conversation. “Have you seen guns?” we asked him. “I have seen toy guns” he responds. “These are little children. He had been really scared that day. He had cried asking to be taken to the mother.

Then they had given doughnuts and cakes and had 176 | Transparency International Sri Lanka asked not to tell anything to the mother. Then I told Rikaz Hajjiar about this. What is this trouble we cannot even go about our day. He told me not to be afraid and that no harm will come to us. Rikaz Hajjiar loves him. He comes here for the New Year and gives him food also. He hugs him and tells him to look at all the hardships the parents face so to learn well. If he is a bad person would we put him there? she questions. “An elder brother came. He kept a chair and said to go under. then he put water. We played Kabadi. the winners got presents .” “Were you shown any films?” “No” “I was asked whether I saw guns, whether someone brought them. Then I said I do not know. Then they said they won’t let me go home. That I will be put in jail. Then they showed photos. They asked me if I have seen the person in it. I haven’t seen that person. I said no. Then I was pressed to tell.

Then I was taken away on my own. Told me that I will be put in jail. Then I cried saying I want to see mother. Then they gave buns and said not to tell the mother” He said he can’t go there and stopped. He said if the younger brother can stay with mother I also want to stay with mother and that he cannot go to the Madrasa. So we told Rikaz Hajjiar and put him into a school here. Because he went to the Madrasa he was taken in one class below” the child’s mother said. We went to another house to meet another child who was questioned by the Criminal Investigations Department. When we went, there was another child in addition to the relevant child. He has also been educated in this Madrasa school. “They checked whether he can learn and was admitted to the Madrasa. We were asked to buy him what he needs. After he went to Puttalam we went to see him once a month. Even if we did not eat we went to see him once a month. There was nothing suspicious there. If there was anything suspicious we would have brought him back. At least he would have told the mother that something like this happened.

He schooled there for four, five months. Then he quit because it is too far” the relatives of the child’s family said. “When the CID questioned him and he said no the CID had hit him on the head with a pen” Who hit you? We asked the child “Someone wearing spectacles” “When we tried to put him back in the Madrasa that Madrasa said with all these problems if he is taken in they will also get into trouble. Admit him again when this is over. We can’t keep them home like this too” She says. JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIP | 177 Presidential Commission of Inquiry on the Easter Sunday Attacks has summoned them. The letter sent to them reads as “in order to obtain a statement with regard to the investigation into your participation in the training conducted by Saharan while you were educating in the Al Suhariya Madrasa school in Karthivu, Wanaathawilluwa” and such. Accordingly, the government has already accepted that Saharan came to the school in which these children were learning, and that he taught there. But according to these children they have seen Saharan only in the photographs after the Easter Sunday attack. The stories of these children reveal that the allegations made by the Criminal Investigations Department are baseless. It should be systematically analyzed as to who is telling the truth. If not, these children will be identified as criminals for no reason at all. Whoever it is that conducts this investigation it has to be done thoroughly. Because these children are rejecting all the allegations leveled against them.