Posts falsely claim prominent lawyer 'represented Sri Lankan comedian arrested for blasphemy'

This article is more than one year old.
Published on June 9, 2023 at 05:26
3 min read
By AFP Sri Lanka

Facebook users have repeatedly shared a false claim that Sri Lanka's former Bar Association president had represented a stand-up comedian who was arrested for controversial comments about Buddhism, the country's majority religion. The lawyer -- well known for defending freedom of speech during protests in Sri Lanka in 2022 -- told AFP he was not the comedian's legal representative.

"Saliya will do anything for money," reads the caption of this Facebook post published on May 29, 2023.

The accompanying composite image shows former president of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) Saliya Peiris and Sri Lankan comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya, who was arrested on May 28, 2023 over comments considered insulting to Buddhism during a show (archived link).

Sinhala-language text above the image of the two people reads: "'I degraded Buddha as a joke'. Grant bail to the suspect under any condition. Lawyer Saliya Peiris represents Nathasha in court."

Sri Lankan authorities are known to take strict action against perceived insults to Buddhism -- the majority religion on the island of 22 million -- often using a law modelled after an international human rights treaty that promotes freedom of thought and religion (archived link).

As of June 9, Edirisooriya remains in custody, local media reported (archived link).

Screenshot of the Facebook post captured on June 2, 2023.

The claim appears to discredit Peiris, who gained prominence for representing activists in cases of state suppression during Sri Lanka's anti-government protests in 2022, which led to the toppling of former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in July that year (archived links here and here).

The lawyer has since been targeted by Rajapaksa's supporters (archived link).

The same claim has also been shared in multiple Facebook posts here and here.

Social media users left comments indicating they believed the claim.

One wrote: "This man clearly has an anti Sinhala-Buddhist agenda. The Police should probe him first."

Another user said: "So what? Innocent until proven guilty. I dont agree with what she did but Im glad she has got legal representation. (sic)"

But Peiris told AFP on June 2 the claims were inaccurate and he did not represent Edirisooriya on May 28.

"I never appeared on behalf of Nathasha," he said.

Inaccurate media report

Peiris also rejected the claim in a Facebook post on May 29, where he pointed out the claims had circulated in erroneous local media reports (archived link).

The lawyer names several news outlets, including Sinhala-language daily Dinamina, for naming him in their reports about the comedian.

"I did not appear before the Fort Magistrate yesterday and I have not been retained for this case. I have asked the relevant media to make corrections," he wrote.

Keyword search found the inaccurate report published by Sinhala-language daily Dinamina on May 29. The newspaper issued a correction on May 30 under the headline "Saliya did not represent Nathasha" (archived links here and here).

The correction also states the lawyer who represented Edirisooriya on May 28 is Asthika Devendra.

Devendra told AFP on June 2 he represented the comedian on May 28.

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