Families of the disappeared seek reopening of Matale mass grave investigation

Newswire reports that the Matale High Court heard an application on 11 November seeking to resume proceedings concerning a mass grave found at Matale General Hospital. Lawyers Himali Kularatne and Lakmal Sooriyagoda filed it for the Families of the Disappeared, an organisation made up of relatives of people who disappeared in different periods. Newswire says the application was brought by 15 mothers whose family members disappeared during the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna uprising in southern Sri Lanka in the late 1980s.

Newswire reports that workers installing a biogas plant at a construction site in the hospital found human remains in 2012, and that 155 bodies had been exhumed by February 2013. According to Newswire, forensic archaeologist Raj Somadeva’s assessment pointed to firearms and blunt-force injuries, including iron nails driven into skulls and signs of decapitation. Newswire says Somadeva dated the remains to the late 1980s based on artefacts found with them.

Newswire reports that Beta Analytics produced carbon-dating results placing the remains before the 1950s, which conflicted with the archaeological assessment. Newswire says Somadeva and Judicial Medical Officer Dr Ajith Jayasena challenged those findings and suggested contamination could explain the discrepancy. The Matale Magistrate’s Court stayed the proceedings in 2015, according to Newswire.

Newswire reports that Families of the Disappeared president Britto Fernando said the application asks for the earlier Magistrate’s Court proceedings to resume. Newswire says the lawyers are expected to submit written arguments to the Matale High Court on 13 January.