28 March, 2024

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Journalist Interrogated By CID About 2017 Article On Lasantha Wickrematunge Murder

The Editor of Eethalaya – a monthly news magazine – was interrogated by the Criminal Investigation Department for four hours over the publication of a report regarding the 2009 murder of Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.

Lasantha

Srilal Priyantha who penned the article published in the magazine in 2017 was summoned to the CID on July 13th and questioned for several hours regarding how he obtained information for the report.

Sources told Colombo Telegraph that CID officials repeatedly questioned the journalist about his sources for the information regarding the SIM cards used by Wickrematunge’s alleged killers.

Priyantha’s article for the Eethalaya magazine in 2017 highlighted how the suspects in Lasantha Wickrematunge’s murder had used SIM cards issued by Dialog GSM. The article claimed that the SIM cards had exchanged messages and phone calls in the days leading up to Wickrematunge’s murder and on 8 January 2009, the morning he was killed in Attidiya, Colombo.

The Eethalaya article contained information that the five SIM cards used by the suspects in the Journalist’s murder and traced to the date of his killing, were obtained under a Ministry of Defence letterhead. The letter was signed by then Chief of National Intelligence Kapila Hendawitharana.

Hendawitharana directed Dialog to issue the SIM cards to a fake company registered to the address 88, Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 07. CID investigations subsequently discovered that the address was also bogus.

Colombo Telegraph has been made aware that the address is regularly used by the Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Sri Lanka Army for many covert operations. Several other SIM cards similarly obtained by the Ministry of Defence were utilized in the abduction of journalist Keith Noyahr in 2008 and the attack on Rivira Editor Upali Tennakoon in 2009.

The interrogation of journalist Srilal Priyantha is the Government’s latest attempt to harass and intimidate the media and ferret out their sources according to media rights activists. Since the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in November 2019 journalists have regularly been brought in for questioning by the CID and news organizations have been raided by the police.

However sources told Colombo Telegraph that the Priyantha’s interrogation was linked to the CID’s ongoing investigation into its former Director SSP Shani Abeysekera and former CID ASP Tissera. Under Abeysekera the CID made serious inroads into investigations concerning crimes against journalists. Several of these investigations have implicated top members of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Government and in the case of the Noyahr abduction, President Gotabaya himself. The effort to uncover journalist Priyantha’s sources is an attempt to bring charges against Abeysekera and Tissera for spilling official secrets to media personnel Colombo Telegraph learns.

SSP Shani Abeysekera had also been summoned for questioning to the CID on July 13th. (By Chinthika De Silva)

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Latest comments

  • 37
    5

    Beloved countrymen, Your hands too are soaked in blood. What are you waiting for. Use your vote to wipe out that blood!

    • 5
      15

      Nathan,
      If the hands of countrymen are soaked in blood for the killing of Lasantha, the whole body of Demala people are soaked in blood for slaughtering thousands of Sinhalayo over a period of three decades.

      • 6
        2

        Insolent Eagle Eye,
        ..
        If you want to write in English, please refer to the two “ethnic groups” in this island as “Sinhalese” & “Tamils”.
        .
        Your comment has not just insulted Nathan but also all Tamils. My problem is not that you are a racist but that you make peace and reconciliation more difficult to achieve, AND also, at this time, more difficult for people to elect the best possible members of parliament.
        .
        That last may, of course be your intention.

        • 1
          0

          Dear Sinhala Man,
          .
          not just a racist, but a sick person he should be.
          .
          Eagle Eye once added that he was at Peradeniya Uni.
          .
          We need to be very alert on his comments. I still believe that he should be that Mahindapalaya who too behaves all together of all sinhala racists.

      • 0
        0

        This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.

        For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2

      • 1
        0

        How many Sinhalayos did they kill? If it is approximately 1000 how many thousands to the nearest?

      • 2
        0

        Eagle, evil brain dead eye,
        .
        Where you you been at the time the war was at its heights ? We all know that the dead in the war was in the nothern province than any other provinces. All those are srilankens.
        Not Demala People are soaked in blood, but only a few thousands of their rebells. Equally, only a few thousands of sinhalayas- in southern province were soaked by blood of own youth. That was in late 80ties.
        If you are not born yesterday, all these should NOT be out of OUR hard disk.

        But I agree with you, that the SATAKAYA (that loin cloth but they wear around their neck – which is red in colour) of Rajapakshe criminals do symbolize their own brand – that is a sign for their blood sucking acitivites.

    • 0
      0

      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.

      For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2

  • 28
    5

    Lasantha was murdered in a day light and it appears that the murderers or those who directed the murder are still in fear of truth. The fact is that the murderers may be hiding under the power but they can’t escape from the conscience and truth. Sri Lankan judiciary may not be powerful or willing to find the truth, truth remains a challenge to the murderers. In Sri Lanka’s history, the day Lasantha murdered is a Darkest Day – the Day Lord Buddha ran away from Srilanka.

  • 22
    4

    This is nothing to be surprised about. All those accused of varying crimes rallied and brought in another “Accused” to be elected as the President. The very “First” thing was to get the “President” out of the “DA Rajapakse Memorial” case relying on a clause in the Constitution. Now he has to do the rest of getting released all others who supported him to be the President. This process will continue unabated for the next five years. Those surprised would only be some of that “6.9 million” who voted this President. Even that “surprise” will not make any turn of events.

  • 16
    4

    As I am a loving every letter that I am able to compose about the sordid vile criminal disgusting Rajapuka clan and their unholy fellow murderous robber gangs of unsavoury stinking cohorts, I have been unceremoniously pre-warned that if I do not do a roundabout turn I on my return to their military junta dictatorship will meet the same fate of a fete as the publisher of the Leader newspaper.
    =
    Now it has become my turn to be shit afraid of my precious life on this wonderful planet and has sought protection from the relevant authorities in the land where I have found absolute nirvana much before my time.
    A fellow always in the negative fellow petty racist comment writer has cast the first stone on me.
    =
    The Kalla kallathoni a mass killer of the innocents who along with his brood are at a total loss not knowing what on hell to do with the breaking development of the second phase of the coronavirus-19 they in their foolish frustrated wisdom not knowing what on earth to do will order their blind loyal followers in the CID and other intelligence personnel to witch hunt all those who they feel threatened by.

    • 3
      12

      rj1952,
      President Gotabhaya Rajapakshe is a threat only to persons:
      • Involved in drug business;
      • Members of the underground mafia involved in illegal activities;
      • Extremists planning to carry out terrorist activities; and
      • LTTE cadres who committed war crimes and hiding in foreign countries under new identities.
      If you do not fall into any of the above mentioned categories, don’t get panic.

      • 5
        0

        Eagle Brain Dead Blind Eye

        “President Gotabhaya Rajapakshe is a threat only to persons: Involved in drug business”

        Duminda Silva is a close friend of Rajapaksas.

        “Members of the underground mafia involved in illegal activities”

        How did Gota/Mahinda miss all of them between 2005 and 2015?
        The only plausible reason is that Mahinda/Gota were the co-Godfathers of the organised Mafia.

        “Extremists planning to carry out terrorist activities”

        We were told 10 years ago Gota wiped off all the terrorists in 2009.

        “LTTE cadres who committed war crimes and hiding in foreign countries under new identities.”

        What was the Navy doing on the shores, airport security, … all of them caught napping? Perhaps Navy Commanders were too busy kidnaping, demanding ransom, killing the victims, …. All those uniformed crooks, war criminals, … are back in service and doing well.

        Are you going to tell us maybe in 10 to 20 years that Gota was prisoner of circumstances?

        Do you still have your ancestor’s spears made in South India?

  • 12
    2

    What was the CID doing in 2017? Or was it another CID in operation then? We are seeing different faces of this CID overturning and questioning investigations by another CID resulting in an unbelievable fiasco of one CID metamorphosing from another and we the poor public do not know which CID to believe. Which CID is the right CID. All CID’s revel in marathon questioning sessions 8 hours is the least. Imagine the notes taken during this. Mind boggling indeed. Then there are the CID’s who take files and flee and come back only when the previous CID has come back.

  • 14
    3

    Gota

    Where is your fleet of White Vans?????
    Can you not find solution to these annoying journalists once and for all ?

    Bring in the patriots Sisira, Kapila, …. and …

    somass,
    Gota wants you.

  • 8
    2

    Somebody going to die soon by Covid -19 and their body will be burned immediately.
    Ready or not, here it comes, Corona Death No # 12

  • 20
    3

    If the previous regime, was not incompetent and corrupt, they would have investigated this brutal murder, and arrested the criminals responsible for this. Instead they seem to have a quid pro quo understanding with them.

    Sri Lankans who do not want our country to be dripping in the blood of journalists, media, and activists, think twice before you give these scoundrels the majority they need, to continue their reign of terror.

    Rajapaksa loyalists, shame on you. YOU are responsible for what this country will become under these criminals. ALL the signs are there, but you choose to ignore the warnings. YOU are in denial, and delusional, and enough of trying to justify their crimes, by blaming others.

  • 12
    2

    Relying entirely on the contents of this article, it is revealed here that the then Chief of National Intelligence had a big role to play. I wonder why during “Yahapalana” times, he was not asked to account for his actions. This also brings down the standing of the so-called top-notch investigative cops. It is also a fact that the Attorney General had returned many a file describing the investigation as incomplete thus questioning the glorification of these investigating personnel. It is public knowledge that a serving DIG was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Recently several officers of the drug squad itself was found to be dealing either directly or indirectly with drugs. Although there are several clean and honest officers the image in general of the Police is that it is full of dealers of all sorts. Therefore, it will not be a surprise if it ultimately revealed that there were dealings with those who should account for and the investigators. Globally everyone is made aware about the dealings of General MacArthur and the Japanese only to make Tojo the sacrificial lamb. The bottom line is all want justice for the murder of Lasantha.

  • 6
    1

    Lasantha was brave to expose GOTA. There is no Media freedom or freedom expression in Sri Lanka,. The government wants stooging media. Journalistic ethics are not followed by some reporters with an aim to get some favors In some of the long articles that appear CT do not the reader should have patient t read and understand what the writer says Some spit the venom of communalism. Some writers do not know the heritage of the country One-time w had excellent writers such as Tarzie Vittcahi

    • 1
      8

      Kuviyam,
      “Some writers do not know the heritage of the country”

      Quite true! That is the reason why some people keep on repeating:
      • Tamils are the indigenous people
      • Sinhalayo came from India
      • North East is the ‘Traditional Homeland’ of Tamils
      • Sinhalayo are colonizing Tamil land in the North and East
      • Mahawanse is a fiction

      • 3
        2

        Eagle Brain Dead Blind Eye

        “• Tamils are the indigenous people
        • Sinhalayo came from India”

        Ancestors of both stupid people came from south India by Kallthonies and then over a period of time converted to whatever their descendants are now.

        Both speak Indian language, follow Indian religion, eat Indian culinary, believe in astrology, caste conscious, Dimwits, self destructive, …………….

        What are you talking about.
        You should go back to your mother country, when you go take Wimal, Vicky, …. with you.

        Kallathonie Descendants like you have been really pain in the ….. Go away.

        • 1
          3

          Native (Fake) Vedda,
          Fake Veddas are not welcomed in Sinhale, the Land of Sinhalayo and Vedda Eththo. If One Nila Eththo find out what damage this K-thoniya pretending as a Native Vedda is doing to tarnish the image of Vedda Eththo who lived with Sinhalayo from time immemorial, he will request the Government to deport you immediately. Find a place to hide if you want to stay in Sinhale and enjoy the ‘Paradise Island’.

          • 2
            1

            Eagle Brain Dead Blind Eye

            Tell us when exactly did your ancestors come from South India and when did you convert to Sinhala/Buddhism? If they did come earlier were they part of Rama’s monkey engineers who built deep water bridge over Palk Strait?

  • 3
    0

    This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.

    For more detail see our Comment policy https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/comments-policy-2

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