BERLIN (AP) — German authorities have arrested a Sri Lankan man suspected of involvement in killing captured government soldiers as a member of the Tamil Tigers rebel group a decade ago.
Federal prosecutors said a judge ordered Thursday the 36-year-old, identified only as Sivatheeban B. because of German privacy rules, detained pending a potential indictment. He was arrested Wednesday in the Duesseldorf area, suspected of committing war crimes and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
Prosecutors say he belonged to the Tamil Tigers from 2006-2009. They allege that, in 2008, he tied up 16 soldiers and guarded them as they were driven to a site where they were shot.
Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009 when government forces defeated the rebels, who fought to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils.
Sri Lanka’s Jagath Jayasuriya wanted for war crimes – BBC News
29 Aug 2017 – Human rights groups have filed lawsuits in Brazil and Colombia against Sri Lanka’sambassador in Latin America, accusing him of war crimes.
UN presses Sri Lanka to meet commitments on war crimes – Reuters
23 Mar 2017 – Sri Lanka must make more progress toward meeting commitments to establishing a credible investigation into alleged war crimes during the …
Sri Lanka leader to shield general from war crimes case – Al Jazeera
3 Sep 2017 – Sri Lanka’s president has vowed to protect a former army chief accused of crimescommitted in the bloody final phase of the country’s civil war.
Sri Lanka fails to investigate war crimes – UN | News24
14 Jul 2017 – Sri Lanka has failed to deliver on its international commitments to prosecute government troops and Tamil rebels for atrocities committed during …