Azath Salley

Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley (born 18 September 1963) is a Sri Lankan politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province.

Azath Salley
8th Governor of Western Province
In office
3 January 2019 – 3 June 2019
PresidentMaithripala Sirisena
Preceded byHemakumara Nanayakkara
Succeeded byA. J. M. Muzammil
Personal details
Born
Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley

(1963-09-18) 18 September 1963
Colombo, Sri Lanka
CitizenshipSri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Political partyNational Unity Alliance (NUA)
Other political
affiliations		MTNA, UPFA, UNP, SLMC (past)
Spouse(s)Renoza, Rusna
ChildrenAmina Salley and Nafees Salley
Alma materDS Senanayake College, Colombo

Salley was the deputy mayor of Colombo, and the founder/leader of the National Unity Front (NUF).

He has two children, Amina (daughter) and Nafees (son).[1]

In May 2013, Salley was arrested and later released by the Sri Lankan Forces under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) after he supposedly called Muslims to launch an "armed struggle" during an interview.,[2][3] the charges were proven to be baseless and he was acquitted.

Salley founded the National Unity Front, an Islamic political party. He was a member of the Central Provincial Council. He worked in partnership with the United Arab Emirates High Commission in Colombo to help the needy during the Islamic Holy Month of Ramazan.

On 3 January 2019 he was sworn in as the eighth Governor of the Western Province. However, as a result of the 2019 Easter Bomb attacks by radical thowheed jamath Islamists, Azath Salley along with all the Muslim politicians were forced to resign after a Political Monk named Athuraliye Rathana[4] protested against Salley's alleged ties to extremists.,[5][6] All the allegations against Azath Salley were baseless and he was acquitted on the 2nd of December 2021.

Salley was somewhat of a controversial figure after the COVID-19 pandemic, as one of the only Muslim leaders in the island to talk against the government's forceful cremation of COVID-19 victims.[7][8]

Alleged influence on police investigation

In 2020, Sri Lanka Police (CID) division started investigation on Salley for allegedly pressuring the police in the investigation of the vandalism of Mawanella Buddha statues. It was revealed that culprits of this vandalism where also responsible for 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings.[9] He was denied the accusation.[10]

A senior DIG later revealed to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry, probing Easter Sunday attacks, that Salley requested that the two suspects be released, which he refused to do so.[11]

References
  1. "Nafees Salley (@NafeesSalley) | Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. "Translation Of Azath Salley's Controversial Interview: "Muslims Will Also Take Up Arms"". 8 May 2013.
  3. "Azath Salley expresses support to terrorism". Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2018.
  4. "Athuraliye Rathana Thero - Wikipedia". en.m.wikipedia.org. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. "Azath Salley sworn in as Western Province Governor". Daily Mirror. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  6. "Protests by Buddhist monks force two Muslim governors to resign in Sri Lanka". Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. "Sri Lanka makes cremations compulsory for coronavirus deaths". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  8. Times, Colombo (10 May 2020). "Muslim's death has become a controversy due to Covid-19: Azath Salley". Colombo Times. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  9. "Sri Lanka : Azath Salley investigated for allegedly influencing police on Mawanella Buddha statues vandalism". www.colombopage.com.
  10. "Azath Salley denies allegations". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 26 April 2019.
  11. Tharaka, Subhashini Senanayake and Dilshan. "PCoI probing Easter Sunday attacks officially concludes proceedings". Daily News.


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