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Court permits Interpol assistance for CID’s Matale grave investigation
International Police (INTERPOL) was this week given permission to assist in the probe of the mass grave found in Matale, following a request made by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to the court hearing the case. Permission was granted by Matale Magistrate Chaturuki de Silva, when the case was taken up on Friday.
Also present in court were 12 lawyers representing the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Socialist Progressive Front (SPF). In addition, a large number of next-of-kin of persons missing without a trace, during the aborted JVP armed uprising in 1989/90, were also present in court
Counsel for the relatives also handed over 22 signed, sworn affidavits to be examined in court.Furthermore, court also directed the CID to place in Sinhala, Tamil and English language newspapers its proceedings related to the ongoing case, to educate those interested in it, and the general public.
BASL spokesman said that they were in court as observers and urged complete transparency in the ongoing case. Some 150 plus human skeletons were unearthed from the mass grave situated in the backyard of the Matale Hospital, by workers clearing the site for a bio gas facility.
Forensic experts later ruled that the grave had existed during the period 1989/90. Their findings were based on material evidence found inside the grave. The JVP had called for a full probe into the findings, which prompted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to appoint a Commission of Inquiry.
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