Court To Fix Trial Date 

By Indika Sri Aravinda-Sunday, October 20, 2013

The Colombo High Court is expected this week to fix the trial date to hear the charges filed against the suspects involved in the December 2011 murder of a British tourist in Tangalle.

Last week the Attorney General’s (AG) department filed direct indictments in the Colombo High Court on the suspects including the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman (UPFA) Sampath Vidanapathirana.

Additional Solicitor General Suhada Gamalath told The Sunday Leader that the incident is seen as controversial with so much international focus on it.
He said that attempts will be made to ensure the case is taken up soon and concluded without delay. British MP Simon Danczuk has meanwhile cautiously welcomed the news that the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman (UPFA) Sampath Vidanapathirana was indicted before the Colombo High Court over the murder of a British tourist in Tangalle.

“This has been a long and hard campaign and let’s hope this is now the beginning of the end. I have directly raised my concerns with the Prime Minister about his attendance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka next month, and I hope the first thing the President does when he shakes David Cameron’s hand is confirm that justice is being done,” the MP said in an email. Danczuk has been campaigning for justice over the murder of the tourist, Khuram Shaikh who is from his constituency in Britain.

“We have had to push very hard to get the Sri Lankan authorities to properly investigate this terrible crime and the family has waited nearly two years for justice. They are heartbroken and want closure. If Sri Lanka wants to continue to develop its tourism sector then it needs to send out a very clear message. When British tourists are brutally murdered then we need to see justice being delivered and the killers put behind bars,” he said. Meanwhile Khuram’s brother, Nasir Shaikh, said it was an encouraging development, but it won’t sink in until a trial date is announced. “We have waited a long time for this and my family won’t rest until the Sri Lankan authorities deliver justice for my brother,” he said.