SRI LANKA: BROTHER OF TAMIL MP SURVIVES ABDUCTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000457 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: BROTHER OF TAMIL MP SURVIVES ABDUCTION BUT STILL UNDER THREAT Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBERT O. BLAKE, JR. REASONS: 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Urban planner Selvarajah Raveendran, brother of a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Member of Parliament, was abducted in front of eyewitnesses at a checkpoint in a high-security zone by unformed policemen and others in civilian clothes on March 24. At the request of the victim's brother, Ambassador intervened with Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa on March 30 requesting assistance in getting Raveendran released. On April 8, Raveendran was released and returned to his brother's house. He met with Ambassador on April 21 and described beatings, torture and forced medication at the hands of his captors, who he said were with military intelligence. On April 23, Raveendran contacted Embassy and reported he was being followed and had received phone threats. End summary. ¶2. (C) Sri Lankan media reported that Jaffna University Lecturer Selvarajah Raveendran, brother of Jaffna MP S. Kajendren of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was abducted in front of eyewitnesses at a checkpoint in a high-security zone by uniformed policemen and others in civilian clothes on March 24. Ambassador raised the case with Senior Advisor (and brother) to President Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa, following a request by Kajendran. On April 8, media reported Raveendran's release. His brother called Ambassador to thank him and confirm the release. ¶3. (C) Raveendran visited the Embassy to speak to the Ambassador and Pol Chief on April 21. Raveendran recounted the circumstances of his abduction, and said that he was then blindfolded and taken to an isolated location about 1 1/2 hours' drive from Colombo. There he was awakened at about 2:30 am and beaten by several men while still blindfolded. Later he was hung upside down and beaten. Raveendran reported that the captors verbally abused him. They told him that his brother Kajendran, who has sought refuge in Norway, was to blame for disclosing information about civilian deaths and casualties in the current military campaign and making statements to the media against the government. They told Raveendran that his brother should resign as an MP, or he, his brother and the entire family would be killed. Raveendran reported being held naked for several days in an extremely hot room and being forced to take medication. ¶4. (C) According to Raveendran, his captors spoke to each other in Sinhala and referred to each other by military ranks. He believes that they were all members of military intelligence, he said. A few days before his release, he said Minister of Foreign Employment (and government defense spokesman) Keheliya Rambukwella visited the house where he was being kept. (Note: there have been previous reports that this minister's security detail was involved in other abductions. Raveendran was still blindfolded during Rambukwella's visit but said that his captors identified him by name in discussions he overheard.) When his captors released him in a Tamil neighborhood in south Colombo, they warned him strictly against filing any complaints with the police, the Red Cross, the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission, or going to a hospital for treatment. They also said that his brother should stop speaking out on conflict issues or they would "destroy the whole family." ¶5. (C) On April 23, Raveendran contacted the Embassy to report that he was being surveilled and followed by men on motorcycles. Further, he received a phone call on the evening of April 22 demanding to know why he had visited the U.S. Embassy and the Red Cross. He was warned that he had not been observing the conditions laid down for his release. Further, his brother should be silent about the conflict, or he (Raveendran) would pay the price. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The incident is one of the fuller accounts we have received from the survivor of an abduction. It is COLOMBO 00000457 002 OF 002 likely that the international notoriety of the case helped save the victim's life. Embassy assesses that the risk to Raveendran is extreme and is attempting to assist in relocating him temporarily abroad. BLAKE