• Denies media claims, stating investigations still ongoing 
• Clarifies suspects mentioned in recent letter to CID Director are not same as those arrested earlier 
• Cites legal weaknesses in identification process as key factor in decision
• States three suspects – Prema Ananda Udalagama, Tissasiri Sugathapala and Prasanna Nanayakkara – were acquitted due to lack of evidence 
• Stresses criminal charges could still be filed if new evidence emerges

Lasantha Wickrematunge

The Attorney General’s (AG) Department yesterday issued a statement refuting recent media reports regarding the suspects in the Lasantha Wickrematunge murder case, emphasising that the investigation remains ongoing and has not reached a conclusion. It clarified that the individuals referenced in a letter dated 27 January, sent by the AG to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Director regarding case no. B92/2009 before the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate’s Court, are not the same suspects arrested in connection with Wickrematunge’s murder.

It further noted that recent media and social media narratives surrounding the case did not align with official investigation extracts submitted by the CID.

The statement added that the case took a new turn in 2015, six years after Wickrematunge’s assassination, when his driver, who was not an eyewitness of the murder, provided a fresh statement to the CID. According to this testimony, the driver claimed that he was abducted by an unidentified group in late 2009. This alleged incident was later brought before the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate’s Court and the authorities proceeded with legal reporting on the matter.

During the investigation, Prema Ananda Udalagama was acquitted due to insufficient evidence to support criminal charges.

The AG’s statement cited legal weaknesses in the identification process as a key factor in the decision. Similarly, two other suspects – Tissasiri Sugathapala and Prasanna Nanayakkara – were also acquitted, despite their alleged involvement in the disappearance of a document that was inside Wickrematunge’s vehicle at the time of his assassination.

The AG’s Department emphasised that lack of evidence was the determining factor in all three acquittals.

Despite these developments, the AG Department’s statement underscored that the possibility of filing criminal charges remains open should new evidence emerge.

Wickrematunge, the Founding Editor of The Sunday Leader, was assassinated on 8 January 2009, in a case that has become emblematic of the dangers faced by journalists in Sri Lanka. Despite repeated pledges by successive Governments to deliver justice, the investigation has seen only little progress over the years