COLOMBO (AsiaNews): Six police officers in Sri Lanka have been detained and suspended after Father Milan Priyadarshana was beaten while returning home from an evening service. The brutal assault on the priest by officers on the evening of January 24 has caused an uproar in the country.
Father Priyadarshana, is the estate manager at a church-run farm in Kotadeniyawa. He was attacked in Gampaha, a city northeast of Colombo, while returning from a service at the Dippitigoda church. At the time of the incident, he was riding a motorcycle and wearing clerical clothing.
He recounted that the suspects beat him and then abandoned him on the side of the road. The priest was later admitted to Negombo Hospital for treatment.
Following a complaint, the six police officers were accused of the assault and remanded in custody until January 29, when they were scheduled to appear for identification as ordered by a court. Meanwhile, they have been suspended from duty.
To express their opposition to the attack and support for Father Priyadarshana, Catholic clergy organised a silent protest on the morning of January 27 in front of the Negombo Municipal Council building. The protest lasted about an hour, along the main Colombo–Puttalam road.
The event was attended exclusively by priests and religious from the Negombo area of the Archdiocese of Colombo. Those present recited the rosary while holding signs condemning the attack that read: “We condemn physical and mental abuse” and “Father Milan, we are with you.”
Father Jude Krishantha, communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo, spoke to the media about the incident.
“We have gathered here to declare that the police have no right to inflict physical or mental violence on any citizen of our country,” he said.
“If a priest had to face such an unfortunate incident today, it is impossible to imagine what the citizens of the country will have to face in the future. That is why we have expressed our opposition even through a silent protest,” he continued.
“As religious leaders,” Father Krishantha added, “we call on the president and all those who handle the law to ensure that the police do not allow such physical and mental violence against any citizen, not just a religious leader. Such wrongdoings must stop if our country is to move on the right path.”
Sister Malathi Dassanayake of the Sadasarana Congregation said, “We strongly condemn this attack on one of our brother priests. To show our solidarity with him, we are silently protesting at this place. We condemn any attack on human life, on an unarmed person, whether ordained or lay.”
