Ali Sabry (Sri Lankan politician)

Mohamed Uvais 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. 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.
Early life and education.
Born in Kalutara to M.S.M Uvais and Zareena Uvais, Sabry was educated at Kalutara Muslim Central College and Zahira College, Colombo. He entered Sri Lanka Law College where he served as the General Secretary of the Law Students’ Union and leader of the Sinhala Debating Team.
Legal career.
Having qualified as an attorney at law, Sabry joined the Unofficial Bar and developed a lucrative practice in original and appellate courts specializing in civil law. He served as Sri Lankan Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and represented Sri Lanka in many International conferences including the Human Rights Session in the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2012. He was the treasurer of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and Chairman of the Junior Bar Committee of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka. In 2012 he was appointed a President's Counsel.
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. 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.
Political career.
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.
He entered the mainstream politics in 2020 and became a member of SLPP. In July 2020, he was appointed as the national leader of the SLPP party's Muslim Federation by the President.
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. 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. He will be the first President's Counsel to serve as Ministry of Justice after M. W. H. de Silva, QC.
Racist attacks.
His appointment as a Justice minister became a controversial issue for some Muslims. 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. However, majority of Muslim people challenged Sabry to win a seat through public choice rather than being enlisted in the national list. He was criticised on social media platforms as well. He also faced criticisms and backlash for his remarks on the 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.