Colombo Chief Magistrate Asanga S. Bodaragama today (14) informed court that legal action will be taken against the suspect lawyer—who was released on bail—for allegedly insulting a female lawyer through social media, if he is found to have violated his bail conditions.
The Magistrate ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to submit a report on whether the suspect had once again insulted the female lawyer or breached any bail conditions.
The suspect, an attorney-at-law, is accused of using AI technology to manipulate nude photos from a female lawyer’s Facebook page and circulate them on social media under her real name and phone number. He had also allegedly engaged in sexual conversations with others while posing as her for nearly two years.
CID’s Computer Crimes Unit arrested the suspect following a technical investigation. He was later released on bail due to medical reasons, as he suffers from severe diabetes and had undergone surgery to remove several toes.
When the case was taken up today, Magistrate Bodaragama severely reprimanded the suspect, stating that such conduct was “utterly disgraceful and unbecoming of a lawyer” and that the offense was by no means minor.
The court also instructed the aggrieved lawyer to file a formal complaint with the Supreme Court regarding the suspect’s professional misconduct.
The case is scheduled to be taken up again on October 28.
Senior Counsel Jaliya Samarasinghe, Counsel Udul Premaratne, and a team of lawyers appeared on behalf of the aggrieved lawyer.
