Johnston, two others released from Sathosa case

Former MP Johnston Fernando and two others were yesterday ordered to be released by the Colombo High Court from the bribery case allegedly excluding Sathosa employees from their duties and being engaged in political activities.

The order was delivered by Colombo High Court Judge Namal Balalle after considering the Preliminary objections raised by the defence that charges cannot be pursued against the accused further.

After considering the circumstances, former MP Johnston Fernando and the two other accused were ordered to be released from the case by the Colombo High Court.

The case was filed against former Minister Johnston Fernando when he was acting as the Trade Minister, former CWE (Lak Sathosa) Chairman Eraj Fernando and the former Minister’s Private Secretary Raj Mohideen Mohammad Zakeer for allegedly causing an unlawful loss to the Government by employing the employees of the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) for election work during the 2011 period.

The Director General of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption filed these corruption cases against the three accused under Section 70 of the Bribery Act on four charges.