Former LTTE member testifies in Prageeth Ekneligoda disappearance trial

A former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sumathipala Suresh Kumar (also known as Murali), has testified in a High Court trial regarding the 2010 abduction and enforced disappearance of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

Kumar testified that he maintained a close, brotherly bond with Ekneligoda and had informed senior LTTE leaders, including Pottu Amman, about their association. During cross-examination, Kumar addressed a previous statement regarding a conversation in Habarana where Ekneligoda allegedly mentioned the possibility of changing the country’s leadership by targeting an aircraft carrying then-President Mahinda Rajapaksa with a missile.

Kumar clarified to the court that this comment was made during a hypothetical discussion about political shifts following the end of the war. He explained that while discussing the possibility of the government remaining in power for another 20 years, Ekneligoda used the missile scenario as an example of how rapidly political circumstances could change.