![Maj. Gen. [retd.] Jegath Dias](http://www.tamilnet.com/pic.html?path=/img/publish/2010/08/JegathDias_02.jpg&width=183&height=275&caption=Maj.%20Gen.%20[retd.]%20Jegath%20Dias)
Territory under the military command responsibility of Jagath Dias [Illustration: CC[NS]/TAG]
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 September 2011, 00:49 GMT]Maj. Gen. (retd.) Jegath Dias, deputy Counsel in Sri Lanka’s embassy in Germany, and commander of Sri Lanka Army's (SLA's) 57th division during the last phase of the Sri Lanka war, was recalled by Colombo "in response to accusations he was involved in war crimes," Swiss media reported today. Spotlight on Dias's alleged war-crimes began when Swiss Council of Eelam Tamils (SCET) and Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based activist group, first filed a case in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against
Germany for accepting Dias to the diplomatic post. Two other legal efforts by Swiss-based advocacy groups, Society for Threatened People and TRIAL, and by Germany-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights further hindered Dias's ability to function as a diplomat, sources said.
Maj. Gen. [retd.] Jegath Dias
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Alleged Sri Lankan war criminal Jagath Dias withdrawn as diplomat from Berlin
A statement issued by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
(September 14, Berlin, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to media reports, Jagath Dias, a former Sri Lankan Army Commander suspected of having committed war crimes, was withdrawn from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Berlin. Dias held the position of a deputy ambassador for Germany, Switzerland and the Vatican State. It is alleged that the former Major General is responsible for war crimes committed during the final phase of the Sri Lankan civil war. During this phase of the conflict, Dias was one of the leading superiors in the field commanding the armed forces. In January 2011, ECCHR sent a comprehensive dossier substantiating the allegations put forward against Dias to the German Federal Foreign Office and requested the withdrawal of his diplomatic visa. In particular, the dossier listed incidents of attacks carried out by the 57th Division under Dias’ command and directed against civilians in no-fire-zones, as well as against hospitals, religious sites and humanitarian institutions.
