A human rights group documenting alleged abuses in Sri Lanka has filed a criminal complaint with Singapore’s attorney general, calling for the arrest of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa for his role in the South Asian country’s decades-long civil war.
The International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) said Rajapaksa committed serious violations of the Geneva Conventions during the civil war in 2009 when he was the country’s defense chief, according to a copy of the complaint seen by Reuters.
The South Africa-based ITJP argued that, on the basis of universal jurisdiction, it claimed the abuses were subject to prosecution in Singapore, where he fled after months of unrest over his country’s economic crisis.
Rajapaksa tendered his resignation in Singapore, the day after fleeing on 13 July. Anti-government protesters invaded the offices and official residences of the president and prime minister.
“The criminal complaint filed is (based on) verifiable information about the crimes that were committed, but also on evidence that actually links the individual in question, who is now in Singapore,” Alexandra Lily Kather, one of the attorneys. who drafted the complaint, told Reuters by phone from Berlin.
“Singapore really has a unique opportunity with this grievance, with its own law and its own policy, to speak truth to power.”
Rajapaksa could not be reached for comment through the Sri Lankan High Commission in Singapore. He previously vehemently denied allegations that he was responsible for rights abuses during the war.
A spokesperson for Singapore’s attorney general did not respond to a request for comment. The country’s Foreign Ministry said Rajapaksa entered the Southeast Asian city-state on a private visit and did not seek or receive asylum.
Shubhankar Dam, a professor at Britain’s University of Portsmouth Law School who taught in Singapore, said that while its courts could prosecute alleged war crimes, genocide and torture, he has repeatedly stated that such jurisdiction should only be invoked. as a last resort.
“While neutrality is not officially enshrined in Singapore’s foreign policy, it has long cultivated a form of impartiality,” Dam said.
“Any decision to prosecute a former foreign head of state must be balanced with its foreign policy objectives.”
Sri Lanka ended a 25-year civil war between ethnic Tamil separatist insurgents and government forces in 2009. Human rights groups accused both sides of abuses during the war.
The ITJP assisted in two civil lawsuits against Rajapaksa, one of which was served in a California parking lot in 2019. Rajapaksa was a US citizen at the time.
Both cases were dropped after Rajapaksa was granted diplomatic immunity upon becoming president later that year.
Source: CNN Brasil
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