Court orders retrial of six ex-soldiers over Kumarapuram massacre

The Court of Appeal has ordered a retrial of six former soldiers acquitted by the Anuradhapura High Court in connection with the 1996 massacre of Tamil civilians at Kumarapuram in Mullaitivu.

The six had been indicted on 101 charges, including the murder of 24 civilians and causing injuries to 25 others. They were acquitted and released by the Anuradhapura High Court in 2016.

A Bench comprising Court of Appeal Justices Amal Ranaraja and Sumudu Premachandra issued the retrial order after considering an appeal filed by the Attorney General seeking to set aside the High Court judgment. The Bench also directed that the order be conveyed to the Anuradhapura High Court.

The two judges delivered separate judgments in the case.

The Court of Appeal agreed with the submissions made by Additional Solicitor General Sudarshana de Silva that the High Court judge had erred in refusing to allow the prosecution to mark certain entries made during the identification parade of the accused.

The incident took place on February 11, 1996, when the civilians were allegedly killed and others injured at Kumarapuram.

In his judgment, Justice Ranaraja held that the High Court judge had committed a technical error by refusing to admit documents relating to the identification parade on the ground that they did not bear an official signature.

Justice Premachandra, in his separate judgment, said it was unacceptable for the absence of an official signature and date to have become the deciding factor in determining the admissibility of documents relating to the identification parade.

“What the judge should have focused on was whether the evidence in question was admissible and could be assessed,” he observed.

The Court of Appeal’s ruling clears the way for the case to be heard afresh before the Anuradhapura High Court.

President’s Counsel Tirantha Walaliyadde appeared for the respondent accused.