Sri Lankan police arrested the country’s police chief and its former defence minister on Tuesday, for alleged negligence over the Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed over 250 people.
The arrests of police chief Pujith Jayasundara and former defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando, comes after Sri Lanka’s Attorney General de Livera accused the two of committing a “grave crime against humanity” for failing to prevent the attacks. Both men were reportedly receiving medical treatment at state-run hospitals at the time of their arrests.
"There is sufficient information to prove negligence of official duties ... and criminal negligence. It is also considered a grave crime against humanity under international law," Livera had said. Nine other senior officers will also be prosecuted over the security lapses, he added.
Fernando and Jayasundara had previously appeared before a parliamentary committee on the Easter Sunday attacks, with Fernando stating Sri Lanka’s president had given him instructions not to allow the prime minister to attend security council meetings. Jayasundara meanwhile said that the president Maithripala Sirisena asked him to take responsibility for the lapse leading to the attacks and promised him a diplomatic posting in return.
See more from the Guardian here, Reuters here and Al Jazeera here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
