Was the party membership of the UNP municipal councillor Harshani Sandaruwani suspended?

Forged letterheads of recognised political parties continue to be a method often used by fake news peddlers to discredit certain individuals. Here is a fact-check regarding such a social media post.

Social Media Posts:

A purported letter with the letterhead of the United National Party, dated September 18th, was widely shared through social media. Citing it as a special notice, the letter stated that the party membership of the UNP Kotte Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani, who was arrested on 18th, has been temporarily suspended. The letter furthermore states that no one from the party will appear in the court procedures at any time. Moreover, it states that the letter has been issued by the UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardene.

Facebook | Archived Link

Another instance of the same letter can be seen below.

Facebook | Archived Link

Accordingly, we took steps to check the credibility of this post.

Fact Check :

Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council was recently arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), in connection with contemptuous remarks made against the judiciary and its ruling after former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was arrested, and later released on bail on the same day after being produced in court (17th).

Citing the statement by the police, the mainstream media reported that the councillor who was arrested on the 17th of September was released on two surety bonds of Rs. 500,000 each. Several other media reports were published regarding the arrest of the municipal councillor: here and here.

Accordingly, we monitored the circulating letter. When comparing the mainstream media reports regarding the arrest of the municipal councillor and the circulating letter, we found a mismatch. The letter dated 18th September states that the arrest was made today. However, according to media reports, the relevant councillor was arrested on the 17th and released on bail the same day. Given the improbability of a significant political party making such a mistake, we further investigated this matter.

United National Party Media Division

Also, suppose the UNP Chairman Vajira Abeywardena issued a letter like the one seen on social media, it should have been published on the official social media accounts of Chairman Vajira Abeywardena or the UNP. However, no such post was seen in either of the accounts.

We inquired with the Media Division of the United National Party, and they stated that the party membership of the relevant councillor has not been suspended, that the other facts mentioned therein are also not true and that the letter was falsely created using their letterhead.

Harshani Sandaruwani refutes the baseless viral letter

We reviewed the social media accounts of Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani. She had made a Facebook post clarifying the commotion, stating that despite the news of her arrest and bail being published on the 18th, the actual incident occurred on the 17^th. Facebook | Archived Link

Accordingly, we contacted Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani over the phone. She also confirmed that the court granted her bail on the same day after her arrest on the 17th. She clarified that she had never received a letter and that the party had confirmed the said letter was falsely constructed.

Furthermore, she noted that the party chairman had informed her that legal action would be taken regarding the forged letter and had shared an announcement on her Facebook about the fake letter, as seen here.

According to the official results of the Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Municipal Council in the recent local government elections, the United National Party secured 2,223 votes and two seats. Accordingly, Harshani Sandaruwani was elected to the Kotte Municipal Council.

Orders to investigate those who made contemptuous remarks against the court.

Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was arrested on August 22 in connection with a charge of misappropriation of government funds, was remanded in custody until August 26 after being produced before the court. Various posts were seen circulating on social media after the former President was arrested and remanded.

After being hospitalised, former President Wickremasinghe was granted bail by the court on the 26th. As he was receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of the Colombo National Hospital, he was not produced before the court on the day. On 26^th August, the Colombo Fort Magistrate Nilupuli Lankapura ordered the release of Ranil Wickremasinghe on three surety bonds of Rs. 5 million each. Furthermore, the Colombo Fort Magistrate had ordered an investigation into individuals who made contemptuous statements to the judiciary and that actions be taken under the Contempt of Courts Act.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation reveals that the letter circulating on social media stating that the party membership of UNP Kotte Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani has been suspended is false. The Municipal Councillor, who was arrested on charges of contempt of court, was released on bail on the same day, 17^th September.

UNP party officials confirmed the viral letter to be forged and clarified that the party membership of the councillor Harshani had not been suspended.