Deputy Minister Watagala to Sue Over False Cinnamon Life Apartment Claims

Colombo – Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala, has announced that he will file a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over false statements being circulated about him on social media. He also stated that preparations are already underway to file civil lawsuits to claim compensation from the identified parties.

The Deputy Minister made this statement in response to propaganda circulating online which claimed that he had purchased a house in the Cinnamon Life residential complex.

In a post on his official Facebook account, Watagala categorically denied the allegations, labeling them as "inaccurate and defamatory propaganda."

"It has been revealed that a certain group is working to spread inaccurate and defamatory propaganda about me on social media, alleging that I have purchased a house in a residential complex called Cinnamon Life," the post stated. "There is absolutely no truth to these claims, and I wish to state that I have not done anything that would harm, even in the slightest, the trust that my party and the public have placed in me."

The Deputy Minister, a lawyer by profession, also commented on the principle of freedom of expression.

"As a lawyer and a political activist, I have continuously and unconditionally stood for the freedom of expression," he wrote. "However, that right is not an overgrown freedom, and the malicious abuse of that freedom is an insult to all the great people throughout human civilization who made immense sacrifices to win it."

He concluded by confirming the legal steps he intends to take: "I will be taking action to file a complaint with the Criminal Investigation Department regarding the malicious and false statement made about me and the propaganda being spread based on it. Furthermore, preparations are already underway to file lawsuits under civil law to seek compensation from the parties who are identified."