In brief
Appeal refused
The Court of Appeal rejected an appeal in the Embilipitiya murder case in early January. School principal Dayananda Lokugalapathy and six soldiers were sentenced to ten years imprisonment in February 1999, for the abduction and murder of 25 students in August 1989, during the JVP uprising.
Navy arrest
The Navy arrested 113 people attempting to travel to Italy illegally in two boats, near the north-western coast of Sri Lanka on 11 January. Another 200 were taken into custody on 18 January.
Probe order
Reports say that on the request of the Cabinet, the Attorney General has directed the police to re-investigate the murders of Tamil Congress leader Kumar Ponnambalam, Jaffna journalist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan and Rohana Kumara, editor of the journal Satana.
Eavesdropping
According to press reports, Defence Minister Tilak Marapane has ordered intelligence services to immediately end tapping of private citizens’ telephones. the reports also say that the former PA government imported eavesdropping devices from France.
Hidden arms
Police amnesty for illegal arms from 1 December ended on 16 January without a single weapon being handed over. Special police teams will now look for the estimated 50,000 illegal weapons.
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