The Magistrate’s Court of Jaffna today took up the magisterial inquiry related to a habeas corpus application filed over the 2011 abduction and enforced disappearance of activists Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan.
The petition concerns the alleged abduction of the two activists in 2011 from a high-security zone in Jaffna during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government.
Speaking to the media outside court, Frontline Socialist Party Central Committee member Indrananda de Silva said the party had presented multiple pieces of evidence linking Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the Defence Secretary of the time, to the alleged abduction.
He alleged that Rajapaksa had repeatedly failed to appear before the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court, citing security concerns, and was attempting to evade judicial proceedings.
De Silva said that at the previous hearing, the magistrate had ordered Rajapaksa to present acceptable reasons for his inability to attend court in Jaffna.
He said that written submissions were presented to court on Thursday on behalf of Rajapaksa, and the court granted time until March 6 for the petitioners to submit their responses.
De Silva further claimed that Rajapaksa was seen attending public events and moving freely in Colombo, including accompanying former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and questioned the credibility of security-related claims raised specifically in relation to appearing before the Jaffna court.
He said the Lalith–Kugan case was the only case currently before court concerning alleged enforced disappearances and killings attributed to the Rajapaksa regime, despite numerous journalists, political activists, and civilians in both the North and South allegedly being killed or disappeared.
De Silva said the party would continue to pursue all possible legal avenues to ensure accountability and called on those advocating democracy, justice, and the rule of law to support the case. (Newswire)