{"id":221398,"date":"2021-08-04T23:40:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T18:10:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=221398"},"modified":"2021-08-05T00:49:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T19:19:54","slug":"sri-lankan-authorities-falter-on-accountability-in-navy-11-case-amnesty-international","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/sri-lankan-authorities-falter-on-accountability-in-navy-11-case-amnesty-international\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lankan Authorities Falter On Accountability In \u2018Navy 11\u2019 Case: Amnesty International"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sri Lankan Attorney General\u2019s Department today decided not to proceed with charges against\u00a0\u00a0Wasantha Karannagoda<\/a><\/span>, a former Navy commander, over his alleged role in the abduction of 11 Tamil youth in 2008 and 2009. The Sri Lankan Navy is alleged to have been behind the forcible disappearance of the \u201cNavy 11\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Wasantha Karannagoda<\/p><\/div>\n

Responding to the decision Yamini Mishra, Amnesty International\u2019s Asia-Pacific Director, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cSri Lanka has the world\u2019s second\u00a0highest number of enforced disappearances, with tens of thousands of people forcibly disappeared over many decades.\u00a0This case was an opportunity for the Sri Lankan authorities to deliver justice for crimes under international law, by ensuring that those reasonably suspected of criminal responsibility, including those implicated for aiding and abetting and under command responsibility, are brought to trial.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case has already been beset by obstacles in the Sri Lankan courts, and today’s decision pushes justice further out of reach for the families of victims.\u00a0The AG\u2019s department must explain the reasons for its decision, and Sri Lankan authorities must deliver truth, justice and reparations for all victims of enforced disappearance.”<\/p>\n

The \u201cNavy 11\u201d case refers to the enforced disappearance of 11 Tamil youth in 2008-2009, allegedly in an abduction racket spearheaded by members of the Sri Lankan Navy. Senior military commanders are implicated.<\/p>\n

In August 2018 the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police arrested Lt. Commander Chandana Prasad Hettiarachchi, alias \u201cNavy Sampath<\/a><\/span>\u201d, as the main suspect. The CID accused then Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijeguneratne<\/a><\/span> of shielding one of the main suspects, and the court also ordered his arrest. In February 2019, former Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, was named as the 14th<\/sup>\u00a0suspect in the case. He was accused of having known about the enforced disappearance by naval personnel he had command responsibility over, and choosing to take no action. On 4 August 2021, media reported that the Attorney General\u2019s department had decided not to proceed with charges against Karannagoda.<\/p>\n

The case has faced many obstacles in the Sri Lankan courts.\u00a0In January 2020, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa<\/a><\/span> appointed a Presidential Commission of Inquiry into \u201cpolitical victimization\u201d under the previous government. Many state officials facing trial over human rights violations have complained of being \u201cpolitically targeted\u201d by the previous government, and have sought the Commission\u2019s support in absolving them from ongoing court cases. As a result,\u00a0the Commission has intervened in cases that are pending before\u00a0courts, especially where military members are implicated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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