A suspect implicated in the murder of Jaffna journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan has been released but remains under suspicion, revealed Jack Griffith, a communication officer for Britain’s Metropolitan police.
In February, the British police arrested a suspect the 48-year old man in Northamptonshire, under Section 51 of the International Criminal Court Act 2001, which relates to war crimes and genocide. The UK police force have encouraged those with knowledge of the murder of Nimalarajan “to come forwards and help achieve justice for Mr Nimalarajan’s family”.
Nimalarajan, a senior journalist who contributed to the BBC Tamil and Sinhala services, the Tamil daily Virakesari and Sinhala weekly Ravaya, was murdered in his Jaffna home on October 19th 2000.
Former BBC journalist Frances Harrison recalled his death, and the struggle to get justice for it, in a 2004 piece towards the end of her time on the island.
She detailed the night Nimalarajan was killed.
Two armed men burst into Nimalarajan's house as he was listening to the news on the BBC Tamil service at night.
One man shot Nimalarajan five times in the head and chest. The other knifed his elderly father; the medical report said he had thirty three centimetres of cuts on his face and neck.
Nimalarajan's mother came out of the bathroom to see her husband and son bleeding on the floor. At that point, the attackers tossed a hand grenade into the sitting room.
The mother and nephew were badly injured. The gunmen departed, firing in the air as they went.
All this, a short distance from a military checkpoint and during curfew hours.
Read more in her piece here.
Read more here: The search for Nimalarajan’s killers proves why international justice is the only way
The government-aligned paramilitary group the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) are suspected of carrying out the killing. Earlier last year, the Sri Lankan Attorney General's department ordered the release of the suspects involved in the murder case. At least two other suspects were thought to have been abroad. Despite more than 21 years passing since the killing, no one has been held accountable for Nimalrajan's murder.
The Metropolitan Police said specialist officers were supporting members of Nimalrajan's family.
His mother, Lily Theres Mylvaganam, who fought relentlessly seeking justice for her son, passed away in Canada, last year. His father, Sangarapillai Mylvaganam, told Reporters Without Borders in 2018,
“This has been 10 years of suffering for our family. But my son’s memory is still alive. I would like people to remember him as a courageous journalist who served his community. The government could relaunch the investigation into my son’s murder if it wanted to. It is a question of political will.”
“We want justice to be done.”
Read more from here.
To provide information, email the War Crimes Team directly at [email protected]