Oct-12-2011 10:01The recent decision by Germany and Switzerland is unlikely to lead to a criminal investigation, since Dias has stated that he is unlikely to return to those countries either as a diplomat or as a private individual.
 Jagath Dias photo courtesy: jdslanka.org |
(LONDON) - One of the key members of the Sri Lankan army during the final stages of the civil war faces criminal investigation if he re-enters parts of Europe.
Jagath Dias, a senior office of the Gajaba Regiment, led the 57th offensive division, and is allegedly responsible for war crimes committed during the final phase of the civil war in 2009. These crimes include the deliberate bombing of religious buildings, the intentional shelling of hospitals and densely populated civilian areas, and the torture of LTTE commanders.
He served as the most senior general officer commanding in the last stages of the conflict. A few months after the war ended he was appointed Deputy Chief of Mission of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Berlin (on September 18 2009), accredited also to Switzerland and the Vatican.
A dossier by the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, andsubmissions by two organisations, TRIAL and the Society for Threatened Peoples (SPM) prompted the Swiss Federal Prosecutor to announce the initiation of a formal criminal investigation against Dias if he returns to the country. Allegations of his complicity in crimes under international law during the Sri Lankan civil war are already under preliminary investigation in Germany.
Dias is one of a number of high-profile figures, who were intimately involved in the final stages of the Sri Lankan conflict and have since been promoted to diplomatic positions. Until his withdrawal as vice-ambassador, Dias enjoyed diplomatic immunity, which he had been granted with his diplomatic visa in Germany and Switzerland, protecting him from any criminal investigation or prosecution.
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