Sri Lanka holds Briton over Channel 4 documentary, as Fox meets Rajapaksa

[TamilNet, Saturday, 09 July 2011, 13:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka has arrested a Briton for allegedly helping Channel 4 television produce a documentary accusing Sri Lanka’s military of mass killings of civilians in the final months of the island’s war. Kandanam Jegadishwaram was arrested on Monday and a Colombo magistrate agreed Friday police can hold Kandanam Jegadishwaram for a month, press reports said Saturday. The British High Commission in Colombo told AFP it had no immediate information on the case. The arrest comes as British Defence Secretary visited Sri Lanka and met with President Mahinda Rajapakasa.

The Daily Mirror newspaper quoted court papers filed by Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) that Jegadishwaram “had caused disrepute to the country and the army” by providing “false” video footage of war crimes to Channel 4 television.

The Lakbima newspaper said police had sought the man's detention because he posed a "threat to national security".

When contacted by AFP, Police spokesman Prishantha Jayakody declined to discuss the case, but confirmed a man was arrested in connection with "supporting terrorist activities".

Jegadishwaram, a British citizen of Tamil origin, has been resident in the UK for 21 years, the Daily Mirror said. He had been visiting Sri Lanka regularly

The CID told the court that 71 DVDs were taken into custody from his residence in Kandy and investigations were being conducting on the contents, the Daily Mirror’s print edition on Saturday said.

Meanwhile, British Defence Secretary Liam Fox arrived in Sri Lanka Friday and met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa Saturday, the paper said.

He delivered the Lakshman Kadirigamar memorial lecture, the Daily Mirror also said, quoting him as saying that freedom of expression, accountability and positive attitudes should be developed in the post conflict era and noting that Kadirgamar, the former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, wanted a political solution to the ethnic conflict.

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