Lanka Army chief to appear in court over journo disappearance

Sri Lankan Army Commander and head of Intelligence Unit were today asked to appear in court over the disappearance of a prominent journalist ahead of the 2010 polls while he was working for former Army chief Sarath Fonseka, who challenged then President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Army Commander and the Head of Intelligence Unit will now appear as witnesses on October 30at the Colombo suburb court of Homagama in connection with the habeas corpus application filed by the wife of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.
Eknaligoda, a celebrated cartoonist, disappeared in January 2010 just days prior to the presidential election held in the same month.

Eknaligoda had worked for the then opposition challenger - the former controversial Army chief Fonseka - who oversaw the military campaign against Tamil rebels in which thousands of civilians are said to have died.
His disappearance became a major human rights thorn for Rajapaksa's regime which came under huge international pressure to probe the disappearance.
After Rajapaksa won the 2010 presidential elections, Fonseka was jailed, tried for corruption and treason, and deprived of his political rights.

Maithripala Sirisena, who defeated Rajapaksa in presidential elections in January, had pledged fresh probe into the case after quashing his previous convictions.
As many as 11 former and present senior level military officials have been arrested so far in the case.

In March, the new government had also conferred the highest military rank of field marshal on Fonseka after restoring all his political rights.