Tag Archives: Lanka
German court convicts Tamil man over killing of Sri Lanka FM
A German court convicted a Sri Lankan man Monday of accessory to murder in the 2005 killing of the South Asian nation’s foreign minister for providing his assassins with crucial information. The regional court in Stuttgart concluded that the defendant, previously identified only as Navanithan G. in line with German privacy rules, had tipped off members of the Tamil Tigers separatist group about Lakshman Kathirkamar’s whereabouts. German news agency dpa reported that the court sentenced him to six years and 10 months imprisonment.
Switzerland slams embassy employee's Sri Lanka detention
The Swiss foreign ministry has criticized a lack of due process in the detention of a Swiss Embassy employee in Sri Lanka who said she was abducted, sexually assaulted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it has criticized a 30-hour interrogation by police of the employee, Gania Banister Francis, over three days despite her being in poor health. A Sri Lankan court on Monday ordered Francis’ detention pending charges of allegedly making statements causing disaffection toward the government and fabricating evidence.
Sri Lanka arrests Swiss Embassy worker who claimed abduction
Sri Lankan police on Monday arrested a Swiss Embassy employee who has said she was abducted, held for hours, sexually assualted and threatened by captors who demanded that she disclose embassy-related information. Gania Banister Francis, a local embassy employee, made statements that could justify a criminal charge of disaffection toward the government and also fabricated evidence in her abduction claim, Sri Lanka’s Attorney General’s Department told police. The Swiss foreign ministry has called the alleged Nov. 25 abduction of Francis a “very serious and unacceptable attack” and summoned Sri Lanka’s ambassador to demand an investigation.
Sri Lanka suspends senior officers for false attack warning
Sri Lanka’s police Tuesday suspended two senior officers for falsely warning of a suicide attack similar to the Easter Sunday bombings that killed at least 258 people in April. Several luxury hotels received a message from police last week cautioning them to step up security. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the two officers responsible were being disciplined for causing panic.
Emaciated elephant forced to perform during religious festival in Sri Lanka has died
Sri Lanka army spies charged over journalist attack
Sri Lanka on Wednesday charged two army spies for a decade-old serious assault of a newspaper editor in the wake of the shock assassination of high-profile anti-establishment journalist Lasantha Wickrematunge. Rivira editor Upali Tennakoon and his wife were lucky to survive the attack in January 2009 outside the capital Colombo as they drove to work. It was the latest in a string of violent attacks against journalists in Sri Lanka, and came two weeks after Wickrematunge was ambushed and stabbed to death as he drove to his office.
Ocasio-Cortez fires back at Kellyanne Conway for slamming her response to Sri Lanka attacks
Sri Lanka police hunt 140 after Easter bombings as shooting erupts in east
Muslims in Sri Lanka were urged to pray at home after the State Intelligence Services warned of possible car bomb attacks, amid fears of retaliatory violence. Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told reporters he had seen a leaked internal security document warning of further attacks on churches and there would be no Catholic masses this Sunday anywhere on the island. The streets of Colombo were deserted on Friday evening, with many people leaving offices early amid tight security after the suicide bombing attacks on three churches and four hotels that also wounded about 500 people.