Ex-navy spokesman, five others get bail

Former navy spokesman D.K.P. Dassanayake and five others, held in remand custody, were granted bail by the High Court today.

Commodore Dassanayake and the others were arrested and remanded on charges of aiding and abetting in the abduction of 11 youths in 2008 and 2009.

High Court Judge Manilal Waidyaratne released each of the six accused on a cash bail of Rs.100,000 with three sureties of Rs.1 million each.

While a main witness to the case, B.Vijayakanthan turned hostile recently claiming the statement given by him was made under duress however at a press briefing in July, Police Spokesperson SP Ruwan Gunasekara said the arrest of former Navy Spokesman Commodore D.K.P. Dassanayake was based on strong and clear evidence of his involvement in the disappearance of 11 youth.

 The Police Media Spokesman said the reports obtained from the Tri-Forces, Police and intelligence services confirmed that none of the disappeared youths were involved in any terrorist activity.

“A few officers in the Navy had committed those disappearances by acting wantonly and abusing their powers. Nobody can fault the Navy for those acts,” he said.

Gunasekara, detailing the investigations on the disappearance of 11 youth, said the Police have so far arrested seven Navy officers in connection with the disappearances, including the first accused Sampath Munasinghe, who has been released on bail.

He said the 11 missing persons, on whom investigations were nearing completion, were residents of Mannar, Kotahena, Trincomalee, Grandpass, Maradana, Dehiwala and Dematagoda. He said the CID investigations could reveal that those youth had been detained at two locations, namely at Chaithya Road in Colombo and the Navy Camp in Trincomalee.

He said the CID has received 28 complaints with regard to enforced disappearances in 2008, adding that the rest of the complaints would also be investigated and the offenders would be brought to book.

The investigations on disappearances of youth in 2008 commenced following a written complaint by former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda to the Colombo Crimes Division on May 28, 2009. The investigations were handed over to the CID on June 10, 2009. The CID has obtained statements from missing persons’ families and naval officers, and scientific evidence based on analysis reports of phone calls.