Welcoming the recent order issued by the Vavuniya High Court (HC) to the security forces to produce a person who was handed over to them in Mullaitivu by his relatives during the end of
war, the Association for the Relatives of Enforced Disappearances in the North and the East
yesterday (26) noted that they too would file habeas corpus petitions to identify the whereabouts
of their loved ones if the authorities take necessary steps to produce the relevant person before
court.
Speaking to The Morning, Association Secretary Leeladevi Ananthanadarajah yesterday said
that the order was a positive move by the Vavuniya High Court, and that if the relevant
authorities take necessary steps to produce the relevant person before court, the other families
of missing persons would similarly file petitions to ascertain their loved ones’ whereabouts.
“On an earlier occasion, we filed a few habeas corpus petitions with the Vavuniya and Mullaitivu
courts in order to ascertain the whereabouts of our missing relatives, but due to the lack of
certain evidence, they were rejected. Now, the recent order by the Vavuniya High Court seems
positive, and if this particular person is produced, we would follow the same procedure,” she
added.
She further said that when the relatives of missing persons filed the same petition earlier to find
the whereabouts of their loved ones, they faced difficulties because the cases kept dragging on.
Meanwhile, recently, in response to a habeas corpus petition filed with the Vavuniya High Court,
an order was made to the Sri Lanka Army to produce a person who was handed over to the
security forces during the end of the war.