Sri Lanka Arrests MP Rishad Bathiudeen, His Brother Over Easter Attacks

Detectives took Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party, into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), police spokesman Ajith Rohana said.

Sri Lanka's police Saturday arrested a top Muslim leader and member of parliament in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks that killed 279 people as pressure to speed up the investigation mounted. Detectives took Rishad Bathiudeen, leader of the All Ceylon Makkal Party, into custody under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), police spokesman Ajith Rohana said. He said Bathiudeen and his brother Riyaaj were arrested in pre-dawn raids on their homes in Colombo. "They were arrested under the PTA based on circumstantial and scientific evidence that they had connections with the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks," Rohana said in a statement.