Convicted Army officer appeals to SC

Thursday, 6 September 2018 00:40 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A divisional Bench of five Judges of the Supreme Court yesterday took up for argument the appeal filed by a former Army Officer Sunil Ratnayake against his conviction and sentence by the Colombo High Court in the massacre of eight civilians in Mirusuvil village, Jaffna in 2000.

The Bench comprised Justices B.P. Aluwihare, Sisira J. De Abrew, Priyantha Jayawardena, Nalin Perera and Murdu N.B. Fernando.

In the High Court Trial-at-Bar, a former staff sergeant R.M. Sunil Ratnayake attached to the Army was found guilty for the murder of eight Tamil civilians and sentenced to death.

After a 13-year trial, High Court Judges Lalith Jayasuriya and Preethi Padman Surasena in their judgment delivered on 25 June 2015 found the first accused Sunil Ratnayake of the Army Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) guilty of 17 counts including unlawful assembly with common intention to cause injury and murder of eight Tamil civilians as sufficient evidence had proven his guilt.

The Court also imposed a fine of Rs. 51,000 on the 1st accused, in default he would be liable to a seven-month imprisonment.

Other four accused – Lieutenant R.W. Senaka Munasinghe, T.M. Jayaratne, S.A. Pushpa Saman Kumara and Gamini Munasinghe – were not found guilty and acquitted and released as insufficient evidence to link them to the murders.

The Attorney General had indicted the five accused on 17 charges in the murder of Gnanapalan Raveendran, Sellamuttu Theivakulasingam, Vilvarajah Pratheepan, Sinniah Vilvarajah, Nadesu Jeyachandran, Kathiran Gnanachandran, Gnanachandran Santhan and Vilvarajah Prasath.

The victims who are internally displaced refugees returning to inspect their property were arrested in the village from16 miles east of Jaffna town. Subsequently they were murdered and buried in a mass grave.

Anil Silva PC with Dhanaraja Samarakoon, Sahan Kulatunga and Asela Serasinghe appeared for the Accused- Appellant. Deputy Solicitor General Thusith Mudalige appeared for the Attorney General.