Rights group lodges complaint against former Sri Lanka president Gotabaya Rajapaksa in Singapore

Former Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and took refuge in Singapore with the country experiencing major food and fuel shortages. This is the worst economic crisis in Sri Lankan history since gaining independence in 1948 and it led to a massive public uproar against Rajapaksa and his government. Although Rajapaksa is currently in Singapore, a right group called the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) has filed a complaint with the country’s attorney general seeking the arrest and trial of Rajapaksa for his role in the Sri Lankan civil war.

According to a report by Reuters, there is no issues when it comes to jurisdiction as he was accused of breaching the Geneva Conventions when Sri Lanka was going through a civil war in 2009.

“The criminal complaint that has been filed is (based on) verifiable information on both the crimes that have been committed, but also on evidence really linking the individual in question, who is now in Singapore,” Alexandra Lily Kather, one of the lawyers for ITJP, told Reuters from Berlin.

“Singapore really has a unique opportunity with this complaint, with its own law and with its own policy, to speak truth to power,” the report further quoted her as saying.

According to the authorities in Singapore, Rajapaksa has not asked for asylum from the government till now and currently, he is on a personal visit. Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka on July 12 and on the following day, he officially stepped down as the President.

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