Police could not answer magistrate's question as to why the politician was arrested

The Colombo chief magistrate granted bail to United National Party (UNP) Mannar District organiser Noordeen Mashur, ruling the arrest by the police Criminal Investigation Department (CID) as unjustifiable.

Champa Janaki Rajaratne told the open court that such action will lead to the police becoming 'jokers' in the public eye.

CID charged that Mr. Mashur was arrested for illegally transporting official polling cards to the north.

It is a punishable offence under the presidential election act, said the police.

But the counsels appearing for the accused told the court that the printed material resembling polling cards were transported to educate the displaced Tamil people in camps in the run up to the presidential election.

Hemamali urges the authorities to prove 'conspiracy' allegations or release her husband

The leaflets were not original polling cards, they said.

The CID was unable to give an answer when magistrate Rajaratne questioned, after carefully checking a sample of the arrested material, on what basis the arrest was made.

She observed that the material clearly shows that they were not official voting cards.

Irida Lanka

Meanwhile, the wife of the detained newspaper editor has filed a fundamental rights (FR) petition against the arrest and continuous detention of her husband.

The petitioner, Hemamali Sirimalwatta told BBC Sandeshaya that Irida Lanka editor Chandana Sirimalwatta was arrested as he exposed government corruption in his newspaper.

The state media still make these accusations but do not say how these conspiracies were planned. If there was any such plan, prove that before a court of law Hemamali Sirimalwatta

She also categorically rejected the accusations by the state media that Mr. Sirimalwatta was involved in a conspiracy to topple the government.

"The state media still make these accusations but do not say how these conspiracies were planned. If there was any such plan, prove that before a court of law," she said.

Mr. Sirimalwatta arrested on 29 January is yet to be produced before a court.

The Defence Secretary, Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of the CID and others are cited as the respondents by the petitioner.