Defiant anti-government demonstrations near the Sri Lankan presidential office can go on for another week following an assurance by the attorney general in a top court here on Friday that no action to remove the protesters from the Galle Face protest site will be taken until August 10.

The development comes a day after protesters vowed to defy an order from the police to vacate the area by Friday evening.

The protesters said the police had not obtained a court order to remove them from the Galle Face area, which was the epicentre of anti-government protests here against the previous Rajapaksa regime.

Three writ applications were filed at the Court of Appeal on Thursday on behalf of the protesters after the police ordered the protesters to leave the protest site.

The attorney general told the court on Friday that the structures will not be removed without following the proper legal procedure.

The Sri Lankan police on Wednesday set an August 5 deadline for the protesters to remove all illegal tents and camps at Galle Face near the presidential office.

The police claim the structures were illegal and need removing according to the law as the site is the property of the Urban Development Authority. Some of the structures were removed by the protesters on Wednesday and Friday following the police order to quit. The protesters have been occupying the area, including the gate of the presidential secretariat, since April 9.

They also claimed that the area was designated as an agitation site by the previous government.