JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — The Jaffna Magistrate’s Court has ordered former Sri Lankan President and Defense Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa to appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on Sept. 29 to give evidence via video link in the long-running judicial inquiry into the disappearance of activists Lalith Kumar Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan.
The order was issued on Friday during proceedings in a habeas corpus petition filed by the families of the two men, who disappeared in December 2011.
Lalith and Kugan vanished on Dec. 9, 2011, in the Avarankal area of Jaffna while helping organize a demonstration by families of the disappeared that was scheduled to take place the following day, International Human Rights Day.
Their relatives subsequently filed a habeas corpus petition before Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal in 2012, seeking an investigation into their disappearance.
During the proceedings, the Court of Appeal directed the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court to record evidence from relevant witnesses and submit its findings. The inquiry began on Sept. 19, 2012.
In 2017, Rajapaksa, who served as defense secretary at the time of the disappearance, was added to the list of witnesses in the proceedings.
The Jaffna Magistrate’s Court later ordered him to testify. Rajapaksa repeatedly informed the court that he was unable to travel to Jaffna because of security concerns.
Through his lawyers, he subsequently sought permission to testify remotely. The court directed him to file an affidavit setting out the security risks that, he alleged, prevented him from appearing in person.
On June 2, the court granted his request to give evidence via video link.
When the case was taken up again on June 19, the magistrate ordered Rajapaksa to appear in person before one of Colombo’s Chief Magistrate’s Courts and testify via a live video connection to the Jaffna court. The court also directed him to inform the court which Colombo court he would attend and to provide three suitable dates for the hearing.
When the case was heard again on Friday, the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court fixed Sept. 29 for Rajapaksa to appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court and give evidence through the video-link arrangement.
The inquiry into the disappearance of Lalith and Kugan has continued for more than a decade without the two activists being found or anyone being held accountable for their disappearance.
