Difference of Opinion Over Ekneligoda Case – Sagala

Ekneligoda was a cartoonist and political analyst who backed former Army Commander, then General Sarath Fonseka, in the 2010 presidential election against former President and incumbent MP Mahinda Rajapaksa. He was allegedly abducted on 24 January of that year, two days before the poll and has not been seen since.

Minister of Law and Order Sagala Ratnayake said yesterday (4), the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Attorney General’s Department are debating whether the journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda disappearance case should proceed as a murder or abduction. He made this observation during a discussion on violence against journalists in Sri Lanka, at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-sponsored conference in Colombo, Further he said, the Attorney General wants to bring in a case of abduction, but the CID prefers to proceed as a case of murder. Hence, a debate is going on at the moment in this regard, the Minister said. There were instances when the evidence was destroyed, investigations into such cases take many years after the incidents.

However, the Police were able to make significant progress in some of the critical cases, the Minister said. He went on to say that cases such as the Ekneligoda’s have underscored the need for new laws and regulations. Measures were underway to change the legal framework allowing the law enforcement authorities to indict a criminal with murder, in the absence of the dead body of the victim. Such provisions will pave way for important developments as far as the investigations are concerned, he added.

He also said, the Government has asked the authorities to give priority to cases where journalists were targeted. Ratnayake was giving an update on a number of cases in which journalists were either, killed, abducted or assaulted during the Presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa. He also said, the Government is considering bringing in a new law to allow witnesses to testify in-camera, on-line.He added that this was being considered as part of the efforts to take the case against the men accused with abducting and assaulting former Deputy Editor of The Nation newspaper, Keith Noyahr in 2008, forward. The Minister said that Noyahr was and ”not willing to come (to Sri Lanka) to give evidence, so we want to see whether we can have him testify from overseas”. Since the assault Noyahr has been living in Australia. Sunday Leader Editor, Wickremetunge, who was about to testify against the then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa in an alleged corruption case, was assaulted with a sharp weapon as he drove to work in January 2009. He sustained serious head injuries and subsequently died in hospital. Speaking regarding the killing of Lasantha Wickremathunga ”We are now trying to identify six telephone numbers and one person had since been arrested in this case” , he said.