SLA blocks spouse from collecting Welikada victim's body

[TamilNet, Saturday, 29 August 2009, 11:30 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) officials Saturday denied permission to Mrs Devendran Saro, the wife of a Welikada prisoner who died in questionable circumstances inside the maximum security prison in Boralle last week, to travel to Colombo to collect her husband's body, civil society sources in Jaffna said. The second Tamil prisoner who died under the same circumstances is yet to be identified.

The deceased, Sinnaiah Devendran, a native of Maskeliya in Up-country, was arrested after a bus bomb blast in Piliyandala. He was a garment factory worker.

Mrs. Devendran had gone to the Jaffna police to get permission to collect the body on Saturday morning but was referred to meet SLA officers to obtain permission to travel to Colombo.

Mrs Devendran than went to the SLA civil affairs office, where the SLA officers had given her an application to fill, and she submitted the form duly filled.

The SLA officers had questioned how and where her husband had died, and she had told that her husband had died in the Welikada prison.

The SLA officers then refused to issue authorization to travel, civil society sources in Jaffna said.

The body of Sinnaiah Devendran currently lies at the Police morgue, Colombo.

In 1983, 53 Tamil political prisoners were massacred inside Welikada and Magazine prisons.

In 2000, 28 Tamil detainees were killed inside the Bindunuwewa detention centre.

Chronology:


Related Articles:
30.05.05   Bindunuwewa massacre will not be the last - AHRC
10.07.04   Flag Day to commemorate Welikada prison massacre victims


External Links:

TamilNation:

Welikada prison massacre