COLOMBO: A senior Naval officer is among six others who have been arrested by the police on charges of aiding and abetting disappearance of 11 youths between 2008 and 2009. Yesterday, five Naval intelligence officers were arrested and remanded over the same incident.
The Colombo Fort magistrate also issued an open arrest warrant on another senior Naval officer. The arrested Naval officers were put under remand custody till July 19. The parents of the missing youth had complained that they were abducted and demanded ransom by the said Navy group.
The government is to soon introduce the disappearances bill in parliament. It was aimed at ensuring there will be no enforced disappearances of individuals in future the government announced. The Crime Investigation Department is probing into the incident, where 11 youths were kidnapped in Colombo and later disappeared after being detained illegally between 2008 and 2009.
Enforced disappearances figure heavy in Sri Lanka's alleged human rights violations during the last phase of the separatist armed conflict that ended in 2009. Both government troops and the LTTE were blamed for the disappearances of individuals.