The number of human skeletons uncovered from the mass grave sites in Chemmani, Jaffna, has reached 126, with 117 remains fully exhumed, as court-supervised excavations continued this week at two designated forensic sites.
The administration of Anura Kumara Dissanayake has taken aim at longstanding privileges enjoyed by the country’s political elite, releasing a draft bill to amend the Presidents’ Entitlements Act No. 4 of 1986 and signalling its intention to revoke the lifetime perks afforded to former presidents and Members of Parliament.
A Sri Lankan court has acquitted and released two former military intelligence officers accused of abducting and assaulting a journalist and two state officials in 2008, in a case that has drawn renewed scrutiny over impunity for state-linked violence.
A newly released Telugu film titled Kingdom has come under fire for its portrayal of Eelam Tamils, with widespread criticism erupting online and calls for the film to be banned.
Families of the forcibly disappeared in Sri Lanka have reiterated their rejection of domestic accountability mechanisms, warning that justice cannot be achieved within a system that has repeatedly failed Tamil victims and continues to shield alleged perpetrators of war crimes and genocide.
Former Sri Lankan Navy Commander Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) over allegations linked to the abduction and murder of an individual in the Pothuhera area, in a case drawing renewed scrutiny over Sri Lanka’s accountability for human rights violations.
Excavations at the Chemmani mass grave site in Jaffna have revealed further chilling discoveries, with the number of identified skeletal assemblages now rising to 118, including one adult skeleton found in a posture cradling the remains of a small child.
Former Sri Lankan President and credibly accused war criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa has informed the Supreme Court that he is willing to testify in the habeas corpus case relating to the 2011 enforced disappearance of human rights activists Lalith Weeraraj and Kugan Muruganandan - but has requested that proceedings be held in Colombo, citing “security concerns.”
Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah has made history as the first Tamil to enter the Australian Senate, following her official signing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) Caucus book during the 48th Parliament.
A group of French parliamentarians have issued a joint statement calling for an independent international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Tamils in Sri Lanka, following the recent discovery of mass graves in the North-East.
Sri Lanka has announced visa fee waivers for travellers from 40 countries in a bid to revive its struggling tourism sector - among them Israel, despite international concern over war crimes being committed in Gaza.
In a landmark ruling, Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered the owners and affiliated companies of the X-Press Pearl cargo vessel to pay USD 1 billion in compensation for the environmental devastation and economic losses caused by the catastrophic maritime disaster that unfolded off the island’s western coast in 2021.
An incident of religious disruption was reported on 24 July at the historic Kanniya Hot Springs Shivan Temple in Trincomalee, where a Sinhala-Buddhist monk attempted to impose unauthorised restrictions during Aadi Amavasai observances.