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A decade of justice, Welikada style

13 Jan 2022

The verdict in one of the most controversial incidents in Sri Lanka’s recent memory that sparked furore among rights groups – the 2012 Welikada Prison killings – was delivered on 12 January 2022, sentencing to death former Welikada Magazine Prison Superintendent Emil Ranjan Lamahewage and acquitting Police Narcotics Bureau Inspector of Police Neomal Rangajeewa. While this verdict itself was questioned by certain parties, especially due to the magnitude of the incident and the verdict the Court pronounced, certain aspects of the investigations and Court proceedings also raise concerns, mainly due to the time they took. It took Sri Lanka’s law enforcement and judicial system a decade to find Lamahewage guilty and sentence him, while there are many concerns that are yet to be answered. It is true that cases of this nature are complex, serious, and require meticulous attention to detail – and therefore may take time. However, the fact that this is a case involving the deaths of 27 persons and injuries to about 50 persons who were in the State’s care when they faced the incident is a good enough reason to expedite the investigations and perhaps Court proceedings too. A lot of things can happen in a decade’s time, and when it comes to court cases, which depend on evidence and testimonies, a lot of things that affect a case’s proceedings, the verdict as well as the justice we expect, can change. The case on the Welikada Prison killings, for example, depends largely on the testimonies, most of which were given by inmates who were in the Prison at the time and witnessed the incident. It is a widely accepted fact that people’s memories including recollections of events (traumatic ones too) could be affected with the passage of time, and sometimes, it can directly affect what a person says in court, or their testimony. It should also be noted that even a slight change in a testimony can prompt the court to question that testimony, even if the rest of it remained unchanged. When we are talking about the lives of 27 people, it is a big deal. It is not the only way a decade’s time can affect a court case. People’s lives and priorities also change, and a person who testifies today in court may not be willing to do the same tomorrow due to countless reasons. Another notable fact we see when it comes to what happened to those involved in the case in different capacities is the loss of certain persons against whom the Committee of Inquiry into the Welikada Prison Incident – 2012, appointed in 2015, had issued recommendations. Among them are former Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police Anura Senanayake, against whom allegations had been levelled initially but passed away before the verdict, while former Defence Secretary and now President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, against whom the said Committee made recommendations of legal action in connection with the matter, also received the Presidential immunity he is Constitutionally entitled to. Sri Lanka currently hears another high profile case which many feel must receive more attention. That is the cases pertaining to the 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. Recently, a suspect who had been arrested in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks died while receiving treatment in hospital, without seeing the end of the case against him. While a man lost the opportunity to talk for himself regarding the charges filed against him, the country and the legal system lost an opportunity to find out whether a man they suspect is actually guilty.  Justice Minister President’s Counsel M.U.M. Ali Sabry has on many occasions stated that he is looking into reforms in the judicial sector, and expediting court proceedings is one of the steps he has talked about. It needs to happen before delays lead the people to question the justice they receive.


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