Magistrate orders to file explanation on two different JMOs’ reports

    The Colombo Magistrate yesterday asked for explanation from the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) as to why two different JMOs’ medical reports had been filed in court in the inquiry into the alleged involvement with a terrorist organization of a senior journalist Tissainayagam and two others.

When the case was taken up for magisterial inquiry before the Colombo Additional Magistrate Ms. Kumari Abeyratne the counsel for the suspects K.V. Thavarasha filed a copy of the medical report that was filed before in  the Supreme Court  signed  by the JMO and said the document filed before the Magistrate court was not the report that was filed in the Supreme Court and it was  from a different JMO.

Following these observations in the Medical reports the Magistrate called for explanation from the TID and asked to file it in court on September 27.

At the outset of the investigations into the case, the counsel for the suspects Jesiheren  complained to court that his client  had been severely manhandled  and tortured at the TID while  in detention. On   May 27, the   Magistrate ordered the TID to produce the suspects before the JMO for examination and report.

As the report which was filed in the Supreme Court and in the Magistrate Court seemed to be different, the magistrate made the order.The suspects Jeyaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam was arrested by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) on March 7, 2008 at the TID premises when he visited his colleague N. Jesiharan and Valarmathy who were detained there. Thereafter they were kept in detention until indictments were filed on August 12 in the Colombo High Court.

According to the indictment, the accused together with unknown persons had committed an offence or abetted the commission of an offence whether planned or unplanned, by words either spoken or intended to be read or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, which intends to cause the commission of acts of violence or racial or communal disharmony and brings the government into disrepute, through the printing or distribution of the publication North Eastern Monthly magazine or by agreeing to commit or abet the commission of the offence of acting to promote that organization during the period between June 1 2006 and June 1, 2007 and that since the aforesaid offence has been committed as a result of the said conspiracy, an offence which is a punishable under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act no. 48 of 1979 as amended by Act No. 10 of 1982 and Act No. 22 of 1988 which is to be read with section 113 (a) and section 102 the penal code has been committed.

In the said time, place and circumstances, an offence had been committed by words either spoken or intended to be read or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, which intends to cause the commission of acts of violence or racial or communal disharmony and brings the Government into disrepute, through the printing or distribution of the publication North Eastern Monthly Magazine or by acting to promote that organization, through the publishing of its contents which is a punishable offence under the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act.

There an offence has been committed by contributing or collecting or obtaining information relating to or donating funds for the purpose of terrorism through the collection of funds from Non-Governmental Organisations for the North Eastern Monthly magazine, which is an offence punishable under Regulation 6 (c) of the Emergency (Prevention and Prohibition of Terrorism and Specified Terrorist Activities) Regulations.

The charges also referred to July 2006 the editorial of the North Eastern Monthly Magazine under the heading “Providing security to Tamils now will define North eastern politics of the future” where it has been stated; “it is fairly obvious that the government is not going to offer them any protection. In fact it is the state security forces that are the main perpetrator of the killings.”

In the November 2006 North Eastern Monthly, under the heading “With no military options Govt. buys time by offering watered- down devolution” Tissainayagam has stated; “Such offensives against the civilians are accompanied by attempts to starve the population by refusing them food as well as medicines and fuel, with the hope of driving out the people of Vaharai and depopulating it.

As this story is being written Vaharai is being subject to intense shelling and aerial bombardment.” custody by the TID alleging that they had aided and abetted the LTTE movement to recruit new members to the movement,by collecting funds for the movement and propagating the LTTE  struggle as a lawful struggle.