COLOMBO: An opposition Tamil minority legislator has been arrested for allegedly helping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a newspaper said Tuesday.
Sathasivam Kanagaratnam, a member of parliament representing the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), was living in the rebel-controlled area in northern Sri Lanka and escaped two days before the defeat of the rebels in a major military action last month.
The lawmaker has been accused of violating the Emergency Regulations, which give wide powers to the security forces, but no other specific charges have been brought against him.
Kanagaratnam appeared before a magistrate in Colombo and has been remanded until July 26, the Daily News reported.
Earlier three doctors were also detained for allegedly working with the LTTE and carrying out propaganda for the rebel movement. They were accused of feeding the media pictures and information about civilian casualties allegedly caused by the military.
More than 10,000 former rebels are reported to have surrendered to the security forces. Some of them are undergoing rehabilitation while the more senior members are to be tried in the courts.