The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Mr. D.M.S.B. Dissanayake, a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka at the time of the events, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/179/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 178th session (May 2006),

Taking account of the response by the Government of Sri Lanka forwarded on 12 October 2006 by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations at Geneva; taking account also of the hearing the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians held with Dr. Jayawardena, a member of the delegation of Sri Lanka, during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006),

Recalling the following:

• On 7 December 2004, the Supreme Court sentenced Mr. Dissanayake at first and last instance to two years' rigorous imprisonment, having found him guilty of contempt of court in connection with a political speech he had made on 3 November 2003 in a remote part of the country, disputing the competence of the Supreme Court to give an advisory opinion on a question put to it by the then President of Sri Lanka and stating that his party would not "accept any shameful decision" that the Court might give; the Chief Justice, whose removal on 14 grounds of misbehaviour Mr. Dissanayake and other members of parliament had demanded by motion of 4 November 2003, presided the panel hearing his case;

• In early February 2006, President Rajapaksa remitted the remainder of Mr. Dissanayake's sentence, with the result that he was released from Welikada Prison on 17 February 2006; shortly before his release, acting upon a request from government party members, the Speaker ruled that Mr. Dissanayake had forfeited his seat because he had absented himself for a continuous period of three months from parliament without seeking leave; Mr. Dissanayake's subsequent petition challenging the revocation of his parliamentary mandate was dismissed by the Supreme Court, reportedly without a hearing,

Bearing in mind that Sri Lanka is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which supersedes any contrary national law, and is thus bound to respect freedom of speech and the right to fair trial enshrined in Articles 19 and 14, respectively,

1. Thanks theSri Lankan authorities for the information provided;

2. Is deeply concerned that Mr. Dissanayake will be prevented from voting and standing in elections owing to a highly questionable verdict and sentence, which moreover, in violation of essential fair trial standards, was not open to judicial review;

3. Remains concerned at the loss of Mr. Dissanayake's parliamentary mandate since the legal pertinence of the relevant decision appears to be doubtful; and refers in this respect to the fact that it was public knowledge that Mr. Dissanayake's absence from parliament was involuntary;

4. Reaffirms that, in making the allegedly offending statement, Mr. Dissanayake was exercising his freedom of speech, and recalls that both common law jurisprudence and human rights doctrine amply demonstrate that freedom of speech must be the overriding value where contempt of court is concerned;

5. Calls therefore on the President of Sri Lanka to grant Mr. Dissanayake a pardon so as to enable him, if not to resume his parliamentary mandate, at least to vote and stand in elections, thereby redressing the injustice suffered by Mr. Dissanayake as a result of the contempt of court proceedings;

6. Requests the Secretary General to inform the authorities accordingly; and to inform the United Nations Human Rights Committee, to which the case has been submitted, of its position;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 116th Assembly (April-May 2007).

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* Article 89 (d) of the Constitution stipulates that if a person is or has served during the period of 7 years preceding a sentence of imprisonment for a period of not less than 6 months imposed after the conviction by a Court or is under a sentence of death or during the preceding 7 years has served such a sentence, such a person is disqualified from being an elector or being elected.

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