Former LTTE cadre sentenced to life in prison

The Colombo High Court today (23) sentenced a former cadre of the now-defunct separatist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to rigorous life imprisonment.

The accused, Thangavelu Nimalan, has been found guilty of the possession of explosives and 02 micro-type pistols to carry out a suicide bomb attack in the Colombo area.

The Attorney General had filed charges against Nimalan over the possession of two micro pistols, 1.5 kilograms of C-4 high explosives and live ammunition in the Ratmalana area in 2009.

Following an extended hearing of the case, Colombo High Court Judge Damith Thotawatta declared that the charges against the defendant had been proven beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution.

On March 05, 2022, Thangavelu Nimalan who had served as a member of the LTTE’s intelligence unit during the civil war in Sri Lanka, was sentenced to another rigorous life imprisonment, after being convicted over the possession of 2kg of high-power explosives containing RDX. 

The case had been filed against the accused in 2011.

At the time, four other cases lodged against the said former LTTE cadre were also being heard before the courts.