Abductions

Image: General Shavendra Silva is seen at the Ampara Air Force camp in eastern Sri Lanka August 24, 2009.  © 2009 Reuters/Stringer/Files. Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director, HRW. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena has appointed a general whose forces have been credibly accused of war crimes as the commander of the national army. The move would seem to confirm the […]

Lieutenant-General Silva commanded Sri Lanka’s 58th Division during the final stages of the military campaign against the LTTE rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, and UN investigationshave implicated the division in alleged serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The UN High Commissioner for Human […]

Attorney General Dappula de Livera PC has requested the Chief Justice to nominate a three member Trial-at-Bar to hear the case involving the abduction and murder of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda. The Co-ordinating Officer to the Attorney General, State Counsel Ms. Nishara Jayaratne told news media that the Attorney General has already prepared indictments to be […]

Image: Keith Noyahr not willing to come to Sri Lanka in person to identify his  abductors. Senior State Counsel Lakmini Girihagama appearing on behalf of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) informed the Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate that former Nation Deputy Editor Keith Noyahr has agreed to an identification parade via video technology. Girihagama made this remark […]

Image: A shop owner in Minuwangoda, Sri Lanka after his shop was set on fire by Sinhalese mobs. Colombo, 12 June 2019 (The Delegation of the European Union (EU) issues the following statement in agreement with the embassies of France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania and the UK High Commission, as well as the embassies of […]

May 30, 2019/Press release. Condemn taking Journalist Mohammed Rizvi Maharoof into custody on baseless charges – Free Media Movement The Free Media Movement is deeply saddened with the injustice Journalist Mohammed Rizvi Maharoof is facing being arrested and taken in to custody on baseless charges., has raised a threat on freedom and safety of media […]

Photo:Rear Admiral A. Guruge, The now famous CID investigation into the abduction and murder of 11 youth by a Navy extortion gang, helped sleuths to break open a secondary racket involving a separate group of naval personnel, including high ranking officers, to abduct businessmen for ransom In June 2010 the gang robbery unit of the […]

11 boys abducted and killed in 2008; 14 naval officers implicated in the crimes, 13 of them arrested and produced before a magistrate. Last Thursday, the 14th suspect in the case, war time Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda won reprieve from arrest in the country’s highest court – probably for the duration of his trial For […]

Conclusions and recommendations. 61. In 2015, by co-sponsoring Human Rights Council resolution 30/1, the Government of Sri Lanka recognized the need to address the past in order to build a brighter future, grounded in accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law. The lack of decisive steps to that end, and of appropriate […]

In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has ruled that the lower courts were wrong to override the conclusions of a medical expert when considering forensic evidence of torture in an asylum claim.  An asylum seeker from Sri Lanka, known as ‘KV’, appealed a Home Office decision to refuse his asylum claim. Expert medical opinion […]

(ECONOMYNEXT 02.03.19) – Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda, who is wanted in connection with the abduction and killing of 11 young men has for the first time involved former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in the case, court records showed. Filing a petition in the Supreme Court seeking the prevention of his imminent arrest by the […]

Image: Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda in the middle. (ECONOMYNEXT/Feb 23, 2019) Former navy chief, Wasantha Karannagoda, has been accused of conspiracy to murder and made a suspect in the internationally-condemned killing of 11 young men a decade ago. Colombo Fort Magistrate Ranga Dissanayake impounded the retired admiral’s passport on Friday after police named him the 14th […]

(Sunday Observer 17 Feb 2019) Right wing politicians have taken up cudgels against Navy officials testifying against senior rankers implicated in an abduction for ransom racket in 2008-2009. Investigators worry the campaign of intimidation could hamper the probe and deter key witnesses from coming forward In 2012, Naval Intelligence officer Lieutenant Commander Krishan Welagedara became […]

Image: FMM team in front of the Human Rights Commission, Sri Lanka. Press Release/2019-01-29. The Human Rights Commission is ready to accept any basic information that could be provided in order to commence further inquiries into Assault, Killings and Disappearances of Journalists, Chairperson, Human Rights Commission, Dr. Deepika Udugama says. She stated this when she […]

Human skeletons of 269 people have been unearthed within 115 days of excavation of Mannar Mass Grave , the countries biggest mass grave which was discovered in May 2018 in Mannar city of Northern Sri-Lanka,  and this situation has raised serious concerns among human rights defenders and war affected communities on justice, future protection and non recurrence. Also the […]

Image: Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Ravindra Wijeguneratne being escorted by a police officer yesterday – Pic by Gayan Amarasekara. After months of evading arrest, burly CDS surrenders to court; refused bail Remanded till 5 December; special protective custody ordered CDS reprimanded for arriving in court in military regalia; changes for next session Fort Magistrate […]

Image: In custody: Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne at the Magistrates Court in Colombo on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: AFP Meera Srinivasan COLOMBO,NOVEMBER 28, 2018. He is accused of harbouring the suspect in a case concerning the disappearance 11 youngsters in the final stages of war A magistrate court on Wednesday remanded Sri Lanka’s top-most military officer […]

Sri Lankan experts say a mass grave found earlier this year in the north-western town of Mannar has turned out to be the country’s biggest such site. More than 230 skeletons have now been found at the grave in the former war zone, up from about 90 in August. Human rights groups say at least […]

Image: Police men protecting the speaker were attacked with chili power by Rajapaksa loyalists. Meera Srinivasan Pro-Rajapaksa MPs again try to assault Jayasuriya; JVP leader accuses them of behaving ‘like beasts’. Amidst furore and violence caused by his MPs in Parliament, Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday lost a trust vote for the third time this week. The […]

“A certain cat had made the acquaintance of a mouse and has said so much to her about the great love and friendship she felt for her, that at length the mouse agreed that they should live and keep house together.” – Brothers Grimm (Cat and Mouse in Partnership) Some words are more evocative than others. […]

  In an act that smacked of political desperation after it became evident his party may not be able to show majority in the House, President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday dissolved Parliament with elections likely to be held on 5 January. The Gazette, which was sent by the Attorney General’s Department on Friday evening, was signed […]

Oct 24, 2018 /ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s police on Wednesday arrested a senior navy officer for the abduction and murder of two Tamil businessmen underscoring the crimes committed under the cover of the island’s ethnic conflict. Lieutenant Commander K. A. Dayananda was taken before a magistrate and remanded in custody till Thursday over the double […]

Image: Abducted children were kept in Navy camp, in Trincomalee. Denying  the news item on the front page of The Sunday Island of Oct. 07, under the headline, “Ex-navy Chief Karannagoda emerges as key suspect in killing of children”, former Navy Commander Admiral (Rtd.) Wasantha Karannagoda has issued a statement.In his statement he confirmed the […]

Ports and Shipping Minister and SLFP spokesman Mahinda Samarasinghe Thursday (Oct 4) insisted President Maithripala Sirisena wouldn’t give in to Western pressure under any circumstances. Samarasinghe, the former human rights envoy of the previous Rajapaksa administration said so at the regular SLFP briefing at its T.B. Jayah Mawatha office when the media sought an explanation […]

A meeting between The Leader of the Opposition and the Tamil National Alliance R Sampanthan and the Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Rt. Hon Mark Field took place today at the Westminster House in Colombo. Voicing his concern Mr Sampanthan pointed out that the conduct of this government was undoubtedly different to […]

Media urged to use RTI, other tools Opposition and Government join in calling for more responsible reporting Journalists should be the compass of citizens, says Norwegian Ambassador Media freedom is essential to a functioning democracy, but reckless use of such freedoms will be the death of it. This was the key takeaway at the 20th anniversary celebration […]

Former Secretary to the then Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, has held him and Lt. Commander Sumith Ranasinghe accountable if 11 children had gone missing after being abducted. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) yesterday (26), informed Colombo Fort Acting Magistrate Deemani Baddewela that Rear Admiral Shamal Fernando, the former Secretary to former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda, […]

Image: Lt. Commander Krishan Welagedara. Lt. Commander Krishan Welagedara provided damning evidence to CID sleuths in 2012, when he was able to help the agency to establish that the 11 youths abducted by a suspected navy gang were held in detention at Gun Site at the Trincomalee Naval Base. A Navy Intelligence officer, Welagedara was privy […]

The key state witness in an abduction case has written to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, complaining that his employer, the Sri Lanka Navy, is victimising him and blocking his promotion. Lt. Cmdr. Krishan Welagedara is a leading witness in a Habeas Corpus application filed in respect of five young Sinhala, Tamil and […]

18 September 2018. “This time President Sirisena’s sword is nearing his own neck; not mere smoke flooding his eyes.” Penchant for playing with fire President Gamaralalage Sirisena has always had a penchant for playing with fire. He did fire-play at the local government elections when he made a disastrous U-turn and went round country blasting […]