Investigations into journalist Keith Noyahr’s abduction and assault are taking a new turn, with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) arresting several suspects nine years after the incident.
The CID produced three suspects before the Additional magistrate of Mt. Lavinia. All three are attached to the Army, one Major and two sergeants. Before the investigation was reopened by the CID, it was previously handled by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID).
An investigations team of the CID is currently looking into incidents relating to journalists Lasantha Wickremathunga, Keith Noyahr and Upali Tennakone who were murdered, abducted and assaulted, respectively.
According to CID sources the current team was initially only vested with the investigations into Lasantha’s murder. The team started looking into the investigations that had already taken place beforehand. The study included actions and inquires made by the CID, TID as well as the police.
While the investigations were carried out by the CID, former IGP Mahinda Balasuriya had removed the investigations from the CID and handed it over to the TID. When CID officials questioned as to why such a decision was taken his reply was simply that this was done since the CID had a heavy volume of work to be carried out.
Then, we looked into the investigations that were carried out by the TID. 14 persons of the surveillance team were taken into custody for the murder of Lasantha Wickremathunga. They were produced before the Magistrate’s Court at Hulftsdorp. The court was informed then that the arrest was made on the basis that “using investigations into the murder and attacks of journalists Keith Noyahr, Lasantha Wickremathunga and Upali Tennakone, an attempted coup was to be set out,” a CID official stated.
Incidents pertaining to the abduction and assault of Keith Noyahr took place in Dehiwala which is under the jurisdiction of the Mt. Lavinia courts while the incident relating to Upali Tennakone was heard in Gampaha courts. No suspects had been produced before these courts nor any statement recorded.
In the case of Upali Tennakone, although key suspects were identifiable, no steps were taken again those suspects. They were merely taken into custody under emergency regulations and released on bail as if they were guilty of selling illicit liquor. That was the end of those investigations, the CID revealed.
When evidence of the murder of Lasantha Wickremathunga was examined the CID identified five phones that were utilized for internal communication among members of the gang. Modern equipment based on mobile triangulation technology indicated that the phones were used near Upali Tennakone’s residence in Imbulgoda. It was also indicated that the phones were used in the vicinity of the Rivira Media Corporation to which both Upali Tennakone and Keith Noyahr were attached.
Further investigations into the patterns and techniques used in the murder, abduction and assaults of these journalists indicated to the CID that it was carried out by the same team.
Based on these preliminary findings, the CID investigation team on Lasantha made a request to the Director of the CID to permit them to reopen the cases of Keith Noyahr and Upali Tennakone.
Then fresh investigations were conducted and statements recorded again from the then Editor of Nation who was the immediate superior of Keith Noyahr. CID officials visited Keith abroad, and obtained a statement from him.
In collecting evidence it surfaced that his abduction was carried out subsequent to an elucidating column relating to a terrorist attack, how the LTTE had managed to penetrate defence lines and the security in Colombo compromised. A few days later Keith Noyahr was abducted.
The incident
On the day of the abduction of Noyahr in May 2008, CEO of Nation Krishantha Cooray, Editor in Chief Lalith Allahakkoon and Keith Noyahr were at dinner, at Queens Café Colombo 3. After dinner, Cooray and Allahakkoon left in one vehicle, while Keith took off in his car to head home. When he was close to home Keith called his wife to tell her that he was close by and to keep the door open for him.
After waiting awhile since Keith had still not returned, his wife checked the gate only to find the car outside the gate with the engine still running, lights switched on and the driver’s door open. When she realised that Keith was nowhere to be seen she immediately contacted a colleague and the news was passed on to the Editor and within a few minutes everyone including Rivira Publications CEO was notified. All made frantic efforts to call anyone they could approach to find Keith.
Krishantha Cooray spoke to then Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa. During this conversation Cooray alleged that it was an act done by the Army. The Secretary rebuffed and told him not to point the finger at his Army.
In the midst of all the calls that were made to the Nation, they were informed that Former CID DIG Anura Senanayake would report on the incident. Senanayake informed that Keith will return home within two hours. How he was privy to this information is still a quandary.
Keith’s superiors and colleagues who were not ready to place their hopes on an impartial investigation or swift action to find Keith before any irreversible harm was done, opted for other options.
Since the abductors had taken Keith’s mobile, short messages were sent continuously to his phone and through a contact from the service provider they managed to locate where the phone was being operated from. By this time, both, national and international media had been informed of the abduction and a complaint lodged with the Dehiwala police.
The service provider managed to locate Keith’s phone from the Dompe area.
ASP Nuwan Wedasinghe attached to the CCD, Senaka Kumarasinghe attached to the CID, L.C. Gunerathne of Mt. Lavinia police division and some journalists were en route to Dompe following the instructions of the service provider which was guiding the team to the location where Keith’s phone was indicated. Fifteen calls were identified from the service provider to the team giving step by step instructions, subsequent investigations revealed.
While the team was in Dompe around to 5 in the morning they were told that Keith had been returned home. When the CID obtained a statement from Keith he related the story as to how he was taken handcuffed and assaulted for nearly seven hours and asked who his informants were. They had also attempted to extract information on Namal Perera, a journalist who was also assaulted by an unidentified gang subsequently. Namal Perera’s visiting card that was with Keith was taken by the abductors.
Following investigations into the telephone calls relating to the event, incoming and outgoing of all individuals involved in the scene, even the journalists, revealed calls from the Rivira Management to the then Defence Secretary and other higher ranking officials. This was sufficient technical evidence. Calls had been placed from the Defence Secretary’s phone to the National Intelligence Chief, Hendawitharana, who in turn had called Director of Military Intelligence (DMI) Amal Karunasekara. He had called one of the arrested soldiers, the CID revealed. When Bullathwatta’s phone signals were followed using mobile triangulation technology he was seen to be active in areas in the vicinity of the Rivira Media Corporation, Queens Café, Dehiwala and finally in Dompe.
It was revealed that Keith was kept in Dompe and was brutally assaulted.
A house has been rented by the DMI under the name of a soldier for a monthly rental of Rs. 60,000/-. The funds have been provided by the Director – Military Intelligence Amal Karunasekara (DMI). Two houses had been rented in the Dompe ‘Lansiyawatta’ area for two years since 2007, CID sources revealed.
Current investigations
The CID has taken into custody five persons attached to the Army. All were produced before the Additional Magistrate of Mt. Lavinia and remanded till 3 March.
On the 3rd an identification parade is to be held to identify the suspects. A Court order has been issued to Keith Noyahr to attend the next hearing and to take part in the identification parade. The CID should be commended on the impartial investigations that have been carried out into such attacks on media personnel which were very common during the previous regime.
“It is our duty to work according to facts and information revealed by the investigation. We are being paid by the tax payers’ money and we have to fulfil our duty to them and not to any political party or agenda,” stated a CID official who spoke to the Sunday Observer on condition of anonymity.
Investigations are currently carried out by the CID team headed IP Nishantha Silva.