Colombo, February 11 A court in western Sri Lanka on Wednesday found 16 of the 41 suspects guilty in the murder of a ruling party parliamentarian and his security officer in 2022.
Of these, 12 were given death sentences by a three-judge bench of the high court in the western town of Gampaha in a split decision. The other four suspects were given suspended prison terms.
Amarakeerthi Athukorale, then a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Sri Lanka Podujana Perumana (SLPP), and his security officer Jayantha Gunawardena were brutally murdered when their vehicle was intercepted by a mob on May 9, 2022, while they were traveling to his constituency in the north-central region of Polonnaruwa.
On the same day, the country erupted in massive demonstrations as protesters, who had been peacefully demanding the resignation of then President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, were attacked by mobs led by politicians from the ruling party.
The protesters then retaliated by attacking supporters of the ruling party. The homes of nearly 100 members of the ruling party were set on fire.
Rajapaksa resigned two months later as the country was grappling with its worst economic crisis. Urgent economic assistance from India and a later bailout from the IMF restored normalcy.
