Corporal Rajapakse calls off his hunger strike

[TamilNet, Monday, 09 August 2004, 22:54 GMT]
Corporal Rajapakse of the Sri Lanka Army who was sentenced to death in the Krishanthy rape and murder case Monday called off his fast unto death in Jaffna prison on an assurance that he would be sent back to Welikada jail in Colombo within two days' time, prison sources said.

Corporal Rajapakse launched his hunger strike Friday when he was not provided with air transport to return to Colombo, sources said.

Corporal Rajapakse was brought down to Jaffna from Colombo last week by special aircraft to be present at the inquiry into several Habeas Corpus applications in which he has been cited the first respondent. He also volunteered to make a statement in court revealing the names of army personnel who had been responsible for the disappearance of youths after their arrest, legal sources said.

HC applications have been filed by relatives of those reported disappeared after the arrest by the soldiers of the SLA in Jaffna town and its suburbs during the period in 1996-1997, sources aid.