Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has sent a letter of demand to Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, seeking Rs 1 billion in damages over an alleged defamatory statement Minister Samaraweera had made.
In a press conference last week, Minister Samaraweera said “We believe that the Rajapaksas hold assets worth over $18 billion (approximate Rs237,933,000,000) in foreign countries,” citing a report received from foreign intelligence services.
The letter of demand sent to Samaraweera by Attorney-at-Law Athula Priyadarshana de Silva, on behalf of his client Mahinda Rajapaksa, states that the allegations are defamatory and had caused discredit to his client.It says that while the damages caused to Mr Rajapaksa’s reputation by the comments cannot be estimated his client will be seeking a sum of Rs 1 billion as compensation and if Samaraweera fails to pay the aforementioned sum within 21 days, legal action will be instigated against him.
