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The son of a leading civil society activist was kidnapped by masked and armed men in Jaffna earlier this morning, after his family had left the house to attend a tsunami memorial event.
22-year-old Thamilamuthan Suriyakumaran, the son of Kanthavanam Suriyakumaran - president of the Northern Province Fishermen's Federation, was alone at the family home in Point Pedro in Jaffna, when masked intruders came to the house between 4-5 am.
Thamilamuthan managed to send a text message to his family, stating that 4 masked men carrying handguns had then kidnapped him and taken him to the Point Pedro army camp.
President of the TNPF, GG Ponnambalam tweeted earlier that Thamilamuthan had spoken to his sister, saying that he was being held in the jungle and was ‘frightened for his life’. He also reported that the Sri Lankan police are refusing to believe his son was abducted, labelling it a ‘scam’.
Sri Lanka has the second highest number of outstanding ‘disappearances’ in the world, with families regularly protesting against the disappearances of their loved ones. Notably, during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit to Sri Lanka, hundreds breached police lines to approach the British convoy.
Also see from 2010 – The logic in Sri Lanka’s disappearances (29 December 2010)
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