Charges to be filed against UK-based LTTEers

From Neville de Silva in London

Britain is to file charges within a month against four suspects accused of conspiring to purchase equipment for use by the Tamil Tigers (LTTE), the Old Bailey was told on Friday. The prosecution said it would need at least 28 days to file charges against the four suspects, three of whom were granted bail. The fourth made no bail application.

Several persons were present in court to stand at sureties for the suspects after the conditions for bail were discussed in the judge’s chambers. The case is expected to be heard around January next year. The prosecution said it could take eight to 10 weeks to complete the trial.

The four suspects (who followed the proceedings through a video link) are Arunachalam Chrishantakumar, popularly known as A. C. Shanthan and said to be the head of the LTTE's UK operations; Jegatheswaran Muraleetharan (46); Murugesu Jegatheswaran (33), and Jeyatheswaran Vythyatharan (39).

They are charged with conspiring to receive equipment for terrorist purposes between January 2003 and December 2006. A defence lawyer for one of the suspects argued that the equipment listed by the prosecution and mentioned in court could be used for innocuous purposes, and had been bought for use in development work.

Among the equipment listed were remote control devices, high powered magnets that could be used to attach mines to ships and other sea-going vessels, a large quantity of circuit boards, and shock-proof laptop computers. Some of this equipment, the court heard, was sent to the British Tamil Association which, the prosecution argued, was a front organisation of the LTTE, headed by A. C. Shanthan.

At the time of his arrest last month, Shanthan was already on bail in connection with another case. He has been also charged with organising meetings on behalf of the LTTE, which has been banned under British law as a foreign terrorist organisation.