Lasantha’s murder case : Would saner counsel prevail? -EDITORIAL

6 February 2025 03:00 am Views - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}} 5 Bookmark

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Sri Lanka’s media fraternity is currently in a ‘state of shock’ regarding a letter issued by Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe recommending the release of three individuals who had been named as suspects in connection with the murder of The Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge.

In his legal advice, outlined in a letter addressed to the CID Director on January 27, 2025, Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe (Jnr) stated that the prosecution does not intend to pursue further legal action against the three suspects: Sergeant Prem Ananda Udalagama, a former sergeant attached to the Army Intelligence Unit; former Crimes Officer-in-Charge of the Mount Lavinia Police, Sub-Inspector Tissa Siri Sugathapala; and retired Senior DIG Prasanna Nanayakkara, in connection with the magisterial inquiry case number B/92/2009.

Issuing a statement, the Free Media Movement has urged the government to intervene to ensure that perpetrators of crimes would not be allowed to set free against a backdrop of impunity. In reference to this matter, the Sri Lanka Working Journalists Association too has expressed their strong disapproval towards the AG’s Department, President, Justice and Media Ministers and the entire government.

In an article titled ‘The Anatomy of a murder investigation – the Lasantha Wickrematunge case’ originally published in the Himal Southasian on January 31, 2025, his niece Raisa Wickrematunge shed light on the lapses in the investigation process and how the family had to endure the trauma over the years. The article indicates how there had been no progress on the case, even after a year prior to the incident until the family filed a petition to handover the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). She then reveals how the CID makes many breakthroughs including the identification of the Tripoli Platoon – a specific group of military officers who had implicated the murder. Investigations revealed how this platoon was linked to attacks on other journalists such as Keith Noyahr and Upali Thennakoon.

As investigations took new turns, in 2010 the Inspector General of Police instructed the CID to hand over the case to the Terrorist Investigation Department and around the same time, the commanding officer of the Tripoli Platoon was given a diplomatic posting at the Embassy of Thailand. Until 2015, snail-paced progress was made with regards to investigations.

But people wouldn’t have forgotten how former President Maithripala Sirisena promised his voters about taking this investigation forward. In July 2016 an intelligence officer named Premananda Udalagama was taken into detention in connection with the case and charged with abduction of an eyewitness, assault and conspiracy. In September a second autopsy was ordered due to discrepancies in the original medical and post-mortem examination reports. In October, a retired intelligence officer was found dead in his home. A note found near his body indicated that it was he who had killed Wickrematunge and that Udalagama was innocent. In 2017, several intelligence officers were arrested by the Police in relation to this case and some investigators were indicted for allegedly concealing evidence.

Attempts to attribute Lasantha’s murder to the LTTE were also revealed during investigations in addition to the transfer of principle investigators of the case including CID Director Shani Abeysekara.

In May 2022, Lasantha’s case was taken up by the People’s Tribunal on the Murder of Journalists, a joint initiative by the international groups Free Press Unlimited, the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, alongside cases from Mexico and Syria. In September, the tribunal found the Sri Lankan state guilty of ‘grave violations’ in the case.

Like Sirisena, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake also promised to pursue several key investigations including the Lasantha Wickrematunge case. His promise had been reflected in the preface of the NPP’s election manifesto ‘A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life’. It states that ‘criminals will be held accountable as we will expose all information related to murders, including the Easter Sunday Attacks and the murders of journalists, sports figures, and targeted groups, which have been left unresolved.’

In the wake of this development, Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa affirmed that the government is ‘studying’ the case while assuring that no perpetrator would be set free and that they wouldn’t triviliase the mandate. Hope saner counsel prevails before the blindfolds of justice.

Comments - 5

Dilakshan Seneviratne Thursday, 06 February 2025 07:33 AM

Ofcourse, saner counsel needs to prevail. Many in SL blow hot and cold every few days when some issue arises. Prime instigators social media and YouTube specialists, most of them speculators, are earning bucks with this. Previous President RW didn’t take any notice of all this and did what he believed in. That is what governing is. This government must do the same and govern the country to achieve their objectives. The people can decide whether they did well or not in five years time. There are no additional serious issues that have arisen since 2022, and the country’s economy is recovering, so people need to be patient and let the government do their job, for which they were elected.

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Gabriella Thursday, 06 February 2025 04:26 PM

If the country's foremost lawyer thinks charges are unwarranted or unsustainable, then, so be it. Nobody wants innocent people convicted for the sake of expediency or simply to produce "results".

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Suren Sarathkumara Friday, 07 February 2025 12:05 AM

Late Lasantha continues to be shrouded in controversy - even during NPP regime. This shows how powerful the perpetrators are. A new development came about to state that it is not exactly the Lasantha's case AG is discontinuing - but the abduction case that ensued the cold-blooded murder. For sure there must be political high hands behind this heinous crime and one of the biggest blows to the media freedom in Sri Lankan history. Who would have benefited by his death and who would have been capable of killing and walking away are no question for most. One of the greatest hints is the manner in which the execution was carried out. He seem to have been intended for a slow death during which the murderer seemed to expect Lasantha to regret whatever he did to be killed brutally.

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S B Lokuge Friday, 07 February 2025 07:34 AM

The 'so called' foremost lawyer is a Rajapaksa plant to look into their interest. He should be investigate first.

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Panduka Dasanayake Saturday, 08 February 2025 06:18 AM

Who was most affected or who would have squirmed the most at the exposures Lasantha made? The irregularities around the purchase of MiG jets to other military purchases and what has transpired internationally since then and the fiasco of an interview at which Gotabhaya Rajapakse asks ‘who is Lasantha?’ may be treated as sufficiently incriminating to name the then all powerful defence secretary and President M Rajapakse without whose nod GR could not have acted, and let the small fry be, as the AG has done. The responsibility and culpability of the two brothers run across almost all the outstanding murders of that time. Look for all the evidence against these two. In the Easter massacre case, GR was clearly the beneficiary and Sirisena, the main accessory. Command responsibility and its failure stand out like thorns. Fresh indictments against the main perpetrators could and should be made and the best cases presented where all concerned act with backbones intact to uphold justice!

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