Alleged SL war criminal not in Canada

1 August 2011 03:39 am

TORONTO - A boxer from Sri Lanka who was named in a list of 30 suspected war criminals hiding in Canada is no longer in this country, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Illandaridevage Kulatunga disappeared after being knocked out during his first match in the 1994 Commonwealth Games which took place in Victoria.
After being located in Toronto, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada announced he was wanted in Sri Lanka for "crimes against humanity" in the torture and killing of civilians.

"The government has also received confirmation that Illandaridevage Kulatunga of Sri Lanka, also identified on the (Canada Border Security Agency) CBSA website, is no longer in Canada," the CBSA announced Sunday.

The 30 suspects were named in an unprecedented move by the federal government on July 21.

The CBSA deported suspected war criminal Manuel De La Torre Herrera -- a former Peruvian police officer -- on Friday. Herrera, 57, came to the GTA to perform in a music festival in 2000 and went underground after his refugee claim was denied.

CBSA agents raided his home in 2009, but he wasn't there. They took his wife into custody and she was later deported to Peru.

Herrera contacted the agency and told them he had done nothing wrong in Peru and disappeared for two years.

He was apprehended July 25 in Toronto after a community member recognized him from the lineup of photos released by the CBSA.

The agency did not reveal their case against Herrera, but it's alleged hewas involved in state-backed death squads which went after guerrilla fighters.

"We are sending a strong message to those who are in our country illegally: We will not back down in our efforts to find and remove them from Canada," Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said after announcing the release of the suspect's names and photos. (Edmonton sun)


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