Backroom deals of PTA Remand Prisoners! Used as Footballs of Lawyers

There is nothing more reprehensible than when the lives of people and their suffering is enhanced for personal greed. It happens all over the world where humans are exploited and a few people benefit exceedingly from it.

The recent cases where the plight of remand prisoners of the LTTE have been kept incarcerated for periods exceeding 15 years without TRIAL and no charges have yet been made against them are in this category!

Guantanamo pales in comparison to what we in Sri Lanka have done to our own Citizens. After all the Americans abused foreigners, we on the other hand are abusing (stil do) our own citizens! That is just not acceptable, especially if they have NOT been accused of a crime and are awaiting trial.

We were told recently that they were to be released on Bail, and within a minute of receiving that information, we were then informed that they were taken back to prison, as there was no one to post bail for them! What a farce? Who are their lawyers? And Who pays them?

Upon closer investigation as to this state of affairs, it appears that certain lawyers acting on behalf of these Prisoners are paid by NGOs. They are reluctant to settle the cases, as the money flow from the NGOs for their fees and expenses will stop. Arguably it is due to their greed that these prisoners are still incarcerated and NOT bailed. Actually this is a scandal that needs a lot more investigation by investigative journalists in Sri Lanka of which there are NONE!

The AGs department that handles these cases were willing to set bail conditions, but it was far more politically beneficial for the defendant’s lawyers to keep them incarcerated, as it would make their work far more remunerative. I dare say the prisoners were kept in the dark about these negotiations and also the paymasters/patrons of the NGOs so the gravy train will still flow!

In the case of the remand prisoners who were to be released on Tuesday, if the lawyers were able to post bail, then they would be out, however there was no one present to do so, and again the lawyers can now ask for more funds to defend them, and even ask for the bail money, to extend their sucking of the system.

It is a shame that unlike the Hippocratic oath of the Doctors, lawyers have NO QUALMS about fleecing their clients, and charging whatever they can get away with from the Paymasters!  Some MUST expose this ABUSE forthwith!