Senior member of the judiciary attacked after speaking out

by admin
Oct 6, 2012
A senior judge, openly critical of the Sri Lankan government, has been admitted to hospital after being stabbed several times.

The secretary of the independent Judicial Service Commission (JSC), Manjula TIlakaratne, was assaulted by four armed men and robbed of his mobile phone.  Reports suggest that it did not appear to be an act aimed at killing him.

Tilakaratne recently issued a statement outlining the targeting and intimidation that the JSC was facing. He said,
“the main objective of those behind the conspiracy, is to destroy the independence of the judiciary and rule of law.”
The attack comes shortly after several lawyers associations passed a resolution condemning the intimidation of the JLC.

The Sri Lankan government said that it “strongly condemned” the attack on Tilakaratne, whilst adding that Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rakapaksa had ordered the police to bring the perpetrators to justice.

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