Ali Sabry (Sri Lankan politician)

Mohamed Ali Sabry, PC, MP (also known as Ali Sabry) is a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician. He is the current Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament, appointed from the national list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.[1][2] He served as the defense counsel of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, chief legal adviser and President of the Muslim Federation of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna.[3]

Hon.

Mohamed Ali Sabry

MP
Born
Kalutara, Sri Lanka
NationalitySri Lankan
Alma materZahira College, Colombo, Kalutara Muslim Central College
OccupationPolitician, Lawyer
Known forMinister of Justice

Career

Being a professional lawyer, he is well known for appearing in court cases for the then defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who was accused of corruption allegations during the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa.[4] He also favoured Gotabaya Rajapaksa when the latter had to deal with the issues regarding American citizenship prior to the runup to the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and insisted that Gotabaya isn't an American citizen with evidence.[5][6][7] He also campaigned for Gotabaya during the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election and urged the minority muslim community to vote for him to form a stable government following the pressure on the community aftermath the 2019 Easter attacks.[8][9]

He entered the mainstream politics in 2020 and became a member of SLPP.[10] In July 2020, he was appointed as the national leader of the SLPP party's Muslim Federation by the President's Counsel.[11][12][13]

He did not contest at the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election but was named by SLPP as a national list candidate to enter the parliament.[14][15] On 12 August 2020, he was appointed as the Justice minister by the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his cabinet during the swearing-in ceremony and was the only muslim person in the 25 member cabinet of ministers for the 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka.[16][17] He will be entering the parliament as a MP for the first time in August 2020.

Racist attacks

His appointment as a Justice minister became a controversial issue for Muslims who work towards converting Srilankan Muslims to Arab culture. However, the majority of the Sinhalese love Sabry and welcomed Sabry as the right candidate to change the current law system and as a minister in the cabinet who represents the minority. [18] However, majority of muslim People challenged Sabry to win a seat through public choice rather than being enlisted in the national list. He was criticized in social media platforms as well.[19] He also faced criticisms and backlash for his remarks on government's decision and Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine's decision for prohibition of burials and a proper cremation process of the muslims who died due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka.[20][21][22]

References
  1. admin (2020-08-12). "Ali Sabry takes oaths as new Justice Minister | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  2. Times, Colombo (2020-08-12). "Lawyer turned politician Ali Sabry is the new Justice Minister". Colombo Times. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  3. "New Cabinet: Ali Sabry appointed Minister of Justice". CeylonToday. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  4. "Four members of Rajapaksa family find place in Sri Lanka cabinet". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  5. www.adaderana.lk http://www.adaderana.lk/news/58876/no-truth-in-rumors-on-gotabayas-us-citizenship-ali-sabry. Retrieved 2020-08-12. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. "Upul Jayasuriya responds to Ali Sabry regarding Gotabaya Rajapaksa's citizenship". Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. 2019-11-11. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  7. "GR, Sabry make strong case for Muslim support | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  8. "Vote Gota Or Prepare "To Get It In A Big Way": Ali Sabry Video Warning Muslims Goes Viral". Colombo Telegraph. 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  9. ""If we don't support him, what will happen?" - Ali Sabry | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  10. Rasooldeen, Mohammed. "All citizens equal in SLPP Government – Ali Sabry". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  11. Corr, Addalaichenai-Central. "Muslims should rally round SLPP – Ali Sabry". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  12. "Ali Sabry, Uwais Hajiar lead SLPP Muslim Federation | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  13. www.themorning.lk http://www.themorning.lk/ali-sabry-uwais-hajiar-to-lead-slpp-muslim-wing/. Retrieved 2020-08-12. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Muslims countrywide contributed to SLPP victory: Ali Sabry | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  15. Indrakumar, Menaka. "SLPP releases National list". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  16. LBO (2020-08-12). "Swearing-in ceremony for Sri Lanka's new Cabinet". Lanka Business Online. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  17. "Minister of Justice Ali Sabry PC". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  18. "Gotabaya controversially appoints Ali Sabry as Minister of Justice". EconomyNext. 2020-08-12. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  19. Indrakumar, Menaka. "Baseless allegations, mudslinging - Ali Sabry". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  20. "Sri Lanka: Muslims face extra threat as coronavirus stirs hate". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  21. "Anguish as Sri Lanka forces Muslims to cremate COVID-19 victims". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  22. Rizwie, Rukshana. "Hate campaigns against Muslim community deplorable – Ali Sabry, PC". Daily News. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.