Switzerland’s Federal Court has ruled that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) is not a criminal organisation and that its primary goal was to establish an independent homeland, in a landmark ruling that has seen 12 Swiss Tamils acquitted of charges filed by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

In their ruling, which was made public earlier today, judges found there was not enough proof to consider the LTTE a criminal group under the Swiss penal code. 

Switzerland’s State Secretary Pascale Baeriswyl has summoned Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Bern, after Colombo dismissed accounts of an embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted by unknown men last week.

The Sri Lankan government has reportedly alerted Colombo’s international airport that a Swiss embassy employee who was abducted and assaulted by unknown men last week, may plan an attempt to leave the island.

NewsIn Asia quotes a highly placed source on Monday as saying that Colombo airport was alerted about the possibility of the employee leaving “as a precautionary measure”.

Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission said that “justice must be done” in response to the abduction and threatening of a Swiss embassy employee in Colombo last week.

In a letter written to Sri Lanka’s police chief, the Human Rights Commission said it was “deeply concerned” over reports of the abduction and said that holding those responsible to account was “absolutely essential” to strengthen public confidence in law enforcement.

Sri Lanka's President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, issued a gazette stating that he is proroguing Parliament with effect from midnight of December 2 until January 3 2020.

The head of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) warned that if the Sri Lankan government continued to avoid its international commitments, it may soon be termed a “failed state”.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror with regards to a UN Human Rights Council resolution on accountability for violations of international law, TNA leader R Sampanthan said, "If Sri Lanka keeps avoiding its international commitments, it will soon lose its legitimacy and be termed a failed state”. 

A former Sri Lankan army soldier and lawyer has commenced a protest outside the Swiss embassy in Colombo, demanding the victim of an abduction last week be interviewed by Sri Lankan authorities.

The Sri Lankan military’s Major (Rtd.) Attorney-at-Law Ajith Prasanna began his protest this morning, with a placard that states:

“The Ambassador of Swisterland, do not tarnish the good name of my motherland. Let the lady to give a statement to the Sri Lanka police”. (sic)

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader Vaiko has slammed the Indian governments announcement that it will provide over $450 in credit for development and security despite concerns over the newly appointed Sri Lankan president’s human rights record.

Thirty-five years ago, while many slept and some were already in the fields, the Sri Lankan army declared a sudden curfew in the town of Cheddikulam and surrounding villages on the border of Vavuniya district.

As news of the curfew seeped through the town through radio and word of mouth, residents scrambled to their homes or the closest house of someone they knew so as not to be caught outside.

Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, has arrived in Sri Lanka for a two-day state visit after the election of Gotabaya Rajapksa.