The Court of Appeal has decided to go ahead with the appeal filed by the wife of the assassinated Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, Nadarajah Raviraj, against the ruling of the Colombo High Court in the case.
Appellant Sasikala Raviraj has sought an order to set aside the High Court’s acquittal of the accused.
On December 24, 2016, the Colombo High Court acquitted five suspects, including three navy personnel, who were accused in the shooting death of the prominent Tamil lawmaker, on grounds of lack of sufficient evidence.
The suspects held were all Naval intelligence personnel who were acquitted and released after they were found not guilty by the special jury. The decision was reached after midnight following a trial which lasted over a month.
The accused were charged on five counts under the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Penal Code. The High Court tried three of the suspects in absentia as they were absconding since the beginning of the investigations.
The case will be taken up for hearing again on 3 March.
