Category: Legal

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25, 2014 (AFP) – Three men suspected of being Tamil Tigers have been arrested in Malaysia, a top police official said Sunday, accusing them of attempting to revive the Sri Lankan separatist group. Khalid Abu Bakar, inspector-general of police, said the trio, who had been in Malaysia since 2004, were arrested in […]

May 22 (AFP) A British tourist thrown out of Sri Lanka for sporting a Buddha tattoo is suing local authorities for $78,000 over her ordeal, which allegedly included sexual harassment, her lawyer said Thursday. Naomi Coleman filed the action in the Supreme Court in Colombo on Wednesday seeking 10 million rupees ($78,000) in compensation from […]

KATHMANDU, May 21, 2014 (AFP) – South Asia’s corruption-fighting agencies lack the power and independence to properly investigate politicians and officials for graft entrenched in the region, a watchdog said Wednesday.A report released by Berlin-based Transparency International said many agencies need their government’s consent to investigate suspected graft cases, while others face massive political interference […]

May 19, 2014 (LBO) – A legislator has renewed a call to publish audited accounts of Sri Lanka’s Employees Provident Fund and table them in the parliament amid concerns over the purchase of some fundamentally weak shares at high prices during a stock market bubble.Sri Lanka’s EPF, which represents pension contributions of private sector employees […]

May 12, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal has approved graphic pictorial warnings on tobacco packs after Ceylon Tobacco Company challenged new health ministry rules.Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror newspaper said in its website that the Court of Appeal had dismissed a write application by CTC and allowed graphic health warnings covering 50 to […]

May 09, 2014 (LBO) – A revenue official was jailed for 102 years on 34 counts related to a value added tax refund fraud and fined 12 billion rupees (91 million US dollars) along with several businessmen, a report said.The case involved the fraudulent refunds of value added tax involving amounting to 3.9 billion rupees, […]

COLOMBO, May 5, 2014 (AFP) – Four of Sri Lanka’s most senior hardline Buddhist monks appeared in court Monday accused of insulting the Koran, in the first such case following a spate of religious hate attacks. Police established a new unit last week to investigate hate crimes in the wake of the violence, which raised […]

COLOMBO, May 2, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy Friday arrested 54 would-be illegal immigrants in the first major detection of boat people heading to Australia this year, an official said.A fishing trawler was detected with the passengers, including 11 women and 13 children, off the island’s north-eastern coast of Mullaittivu, navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya […]

May 01, 2014 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan national has been arrested in India over alleged links to Pakistani intelligence, the Times of India newspaper said. The newspaper said Sakir Hussein, 37, was in Puzhal prison after being remanded by a court in Tamil Nadu Tuesday. He had flown in from Sri Lanka on a […]

COLOMBO, April 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka police Monday announced a new unit to investigate religious hate crimes after attacks by Buddhist monks on churches and mosques last year raised concerns about religious freedom.Police Inspector-General N. K. Illangakoon said the new unit would swiftly investigate any complaint relating to “religious matters” on the majority […]

DUBAI, April 22, 2014 (AFP) – Amnesty International accused authorities in gas-rich Qatar on Wednesday of failing to protect domestic workers, citing cases of abuse, sexual violence and “forced labour”.As she lay injured on the ground, her attacker sexually assaulted her before finally calling an ambulance. Six months later, she was still using a wheelchair, […]

COLOMBO, April 10, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police have arrested 60 people accused of trying to revive a separatist group behind a civil war that left tens of thousands dead, a spokesman said on Thursday.The suspects, including 10 women, were detained in a crackdown over the past month and were being questioned about attempts […]