A rights group gathering evidence on Sri Lanka’s alleged rights abuses said it filed a criminal complaint with Singapore’s Attorney General, seeking to arrest an ex-Sri Lankan president for his role in war crimes alleged to have been committed during the island nation’s civil war that ended more than a decade ago.
Lawyers from the International Truth and Justice Project — an evidence-gathering organization administered by a South Africa-based nonprofit foundation — filed the complaint, requesting the immediate arrest of ex-Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his role as the secretary of defense during Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009, the group said in a release on Sunday.
Rajapaksa is believed to be living in Singapore after fleeing from Sri Lanka due to months of massive protests against him over the country’s economic meltdown. Rajapaksa fled the country in mid-July after angry Sri Lankan protesters stormed his residence. He first went to the nearby Maldives and then flew to Singapore.
The group said, “the 63-page complaint argues that Rajapaksa committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the civil war in 2009 when he was secretary of defense and that these are crimes subject to domestic prosecution in Singapore under universal jurisdiction.”
Rajapaksa was one of the most powerful officials — holding the title of secretary to the ministry of defense — in the administration of his elder brother president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ruled Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015.
He became Sri Lanka’s president in 2019 but had to flee in mid-July due to public protest over his failure to resolve an unprecedented economic crisis that has dealt a severe blow to the livelihood of many Sri Lankans.
Lawyers from the International Truth and Justice Project — an evidence-gathering organization administered by a South Africa-based nonprofit foundation — filed the complaint, requesting the immediate arrest of ex-Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his role as the secretary of defense during Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009, the group said in a release on Sunday.
Rajapaksa is believed to be living in Singapore after fleeing from Sri Lanka due to months of massive protests against him over the country’s economic meltdown. Rajapaksa fled the country in mid-July after angry Sri Lankan protesters stormed his residence. He first went to the nearby Maldives and then flew to Singapore.
The group said, “the 63-page complaint argues that Rajapaksa committed grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions during the civil war in 2009 when he was secretary of defense and that these are crimes subject to domestic prosecution in Singapore under universal jurisdiction.”
Rajapaksa was one of the most powerful officials — holding the title of secretary to the ministry of defense — in the administration of his elder brother president Mahinda Rajapaksa, who ruled Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015.
He became Sri Lanka’s president in 2019 but had to flee in mid-July due to public protest over his failure to resolve an unprecedented economic crisis that has dealt a severe blow to the livelihood of many Sri Lankans.
