Priyanka Fernando case : UK will uphold Vienna Convention | Sunday Observer

Priyanka Fernando case : UK will uphold Vienna Convention

27 January, 2019

The British High Commission in Colombo confirmed on Friday that the UK is committed to uphold the ‘Vienna convention’ as well as the ‘rule of law’ when asked whether former Minister Counselor (Defence) Priyanka Fernando, who is alleged to have made an offensive gesture in London, had diplomatic immunity while serving in the UK last year.

A spokesperson for the British High Commission (BHC) in Colombo, Neil Kavanagh, the Head of the Political Section, said that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is not a party to these legal proceedings, has been contacted by Westminster Magistrate’s Court, seeking clarification as to the Brigadier’s diplomatic status in the UK at the time of the incident.

“We are providing documentation to assist the court,” he said. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is a treaty concerning the international law on treaties between States.

The Convention requires diplomats to obey local laws, however, it provides the diplomatic community protection from prosecution, among other things. The only sanction permissible under the Convention, in the absence of a waiver of immunity, is expulsion.

The BHC Spokesperson, however, did not comment on whether Brigadier Fernando will be liable to face Court proceedings in the UK since the Court has issued an arrest warrant without bail and the police are expected to produce him in the UK Courts. This is considered the first time a Sri Lankan diplomat has been prosecuted on foreign soil for something done during his term of office.

The BHC confirmed that Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasingha met British High commissioner James Dauris on Thursday and discussed a range of issues including Brigadier Fernando’s court matter.

Foreign Ministry sources said the Foreign Secretary stressed that Brigadier Fernando had diplomatic immunity hence that he cannot be prosecuted in the UK for a gesture he made at a group of protestors in London on Sri Lanka’s Independence day. The gesture, made on a flight of stairs leading to the High Commission premises, was deemed offensive by the protesters with one of them deciding to initiate a private prosecution.

The incident on February 4, 2018, came to the forefront last week with news reports that Manchester Magistrate’s court has issued an arrest warrant on the Brigadier who was hailed as a hero and a patriot back in Sri Lanka. Diplomatic sources said he was seen as a hero for making that gesture because there is a notion that such protests in foreign soil are engineered by LTTE fronts.

The protest in front of the Sri Lanka’s High commission was organised by a group calling itself “Tamil Solidarity” and the protesters carried LTTE flags and placards saying ‘where are are the missing people?’.

The Magistrate’s Court of Westminster reportedly heard the case against Brigadier Priyankara Fernando in absentia and had allegedly found him guilty. Web media reported that the Magistrate decided to hear the case ex-parte after being satisfied that enough attempts have been made to serve the summons on the Brigadier.

After the video of his making the throat slitting gesture and pointing to the Sri Lankan flag in his military uniform went viral on social media, he was returned to the country late February 2018.

The BHC spokesperson said, “The UK government was deeply concerned by the incident involving the Sri Lankan Defence Attaché last year, and made representations to the Sri Lankan Government. The Defence Attaché was recalled by his Government soon after.”

The Public Interest Law Centre, representing an aggrieved protester has initiated the case, a media release from the law firm stated. The case has been filed under the Public Order Act of 1986 for using threatening behavior.

The Military Spokesman Brigadier Sumith Atapattu said the former Defence Attache charged in court that he did not receive any Court document from the Manchester Magistrate’s Court and he had been unaware of the case. Foreign Ministry sources also said that they too were kept in the dark.

Before the meeting between the Foreign Secretary and the British High Commissioner on Thursday, the Foreign Ministry conveyed to the UK Foreign Office that Brigadier Fernando is no longer a resident in the UK, and besides, he should be entitled to diplomatic immunity since he was in the UK as a diplomatic agent.

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