Indictments were filed at the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar against 09 Sri Lanka Army Intelligence Officers including, the Commanding Officer of the Giritale Army Camp Lieutenant Colonel Shammi Kumararatne.
They are charged under 17 separate indictments for the abduction of Journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, with the intention of secretly and unlawfully detaining him, and his assassination. The case was called up in the presence of Justices Sampath Abeykoon, Sampath Wijeratne and Gihan Kulatunga of the Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar.
The indictments were filed against the 09 accused of conspiring with those unknown to the prosecution between the 24th and 27th of January 2010 in Giritale, Koswatte, and Battaramulla and carrying out the abduction of Prageeth Ekneligoda.
The other accused are :
- R.M.D.K. Rajapaksa alias Nadan
- Wadugedara Vinie Priyantha Dilanjan Upasena alias Suresh
- Ravindra Rupasena alias Ranji
- Chaminda Kumara Abeyratne
- Dhanushka Gunaratne
- Aiya Sami Balasubramaniam
- Tharanga Prasad Gamage
- T.E.R. Peiris
After the indictments were handed over, the Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar ordered for them to be released on bail given earlier by the Magistrate’s Court. An overseas travel ban was imposed on the accused and they were ordered to hand-over their passports to the court.
The matter will be called up again on the 18th of December.
