(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam has informed the head of the Office for Reparations Ms. Dhara Wijayatilake in writing to take steps to establish the compensation fund which was mentioned in the judgment of the Supreme Court given on 12 January convicting five people including the former president for failing to prevent the Easter attack.
The Supreme Court ordered the government to establish a fund to pay fair and equitable compensation to the victims of the Easter attack and the five respondents who found guilty of failing to prevent the Easter Sunday attack were ordered to credit the relevant compensation money to the said fund. The Supreme Court ordered the Attorney General to supervise the activities of the fund.
The Supreme Court has ordered the establishment of a victim fund to credit the compensation ordered to be paid to the respondents in the case for fair and equitable compensation to the families of the victims.
The Attorney General has also stated in the letter that the respondents should credit the compensation amount to the fund from their personal money and the respondents should submit a report regarding the details of the payment of compensation to the Supreme Court within six months.
According to the decision of the Cabinet to compensate the victims, the allegations of non-compensation or under-compensation should also be investigated, the Attorney General’s letter further said. The Attorney General has also mentioned in the letter that the correct information regarding that should be submitted to the Supreme Court within three months through a motion.
The court ordered former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay 100 million rupees from his personal funds as compensation to the victims of the Easter Sunday attack.
Meanwhile the court ordered the then Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former head of State Intelligence Service Nilantha Jayawardena to pay compensation of 75 million rupees each from their own funds.
Former Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando was ordered to pay 50 million rupees while former National Intelligence Chief Sisira Mendis was ordered to pay 10 million rupees from their personal money.
The Supreme Court gave this order while announcing the decision on 12 petitions filed by the victims claiming that their basic human rights were violated by not taking steps to prevent the Easter attack despite receiving the intelligence information prior to the attack.
The 12 fundamental rights petitions were filed by Nandana Sirimanna, a father whose two children died in the bombing, Janath Vidanage, a tourist businessman, three Catholic priests including Sarath Iddamalgoda, lawyer Moditha Ekanayake, who was injured in the Shangri-La bombing, Bar Association of Sri Lanka and others.
