From Pradeshiya Sabha to prison!

Saturday, 19 July 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Khuram Shaikh’s brother Nasser (right) with Deputy British High Commissioner Laura Davies outside the High Court

– Pic by Shehan Gunaratne

Khuram’s murderers sentenced to 20 years in prison
High Court convicts Tangalle PS Chairman and three others for Briton’s murder and rape of Russian girlfriend
“Today I kept a promise to my brother”: Nasser Shaikh
Victim’s brother, family and girlfriend in Colombo for verdict
British High Commission welcomes verdicts; says officials of Attorney General’s Dept. had shown great professionalism and integrity

Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman Sampath Vidanapathirana being escorted by policeman after the High Court verdict was delivered

Following a high profile trial in which the defence called no witnesses, the Colombo High Court yesterday sentenced a ruling party politician and three others to 20 years in prison for murdering British tourist Khuram Shaikh and raping his Russian girlfriend in 2011. Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha Chairman and UPFA strongman Sampath Vidanapathirana and three more men were convicted of the murder of the 32-year-old British national and Red Cross worker and the sexual assault of his girlfriend Victoria Alexandrona who were holidaying in Tangalle in 2011. Vidanapathirana was one of six suspects standing trial in court proceedings that commenced in March this year. Two of the suspects were acquitted by the High Court. The fifth and sixth accused were acquitted on the basis that prosecuting attorneys had indicated that there was no evidence against them, the judgment said. The other four were sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for their crimes. Defence lawyers were critical of the fact that the High Court Judge had only read out the convictions, sentencing and acquittals, without giving reasons for the convictions. The trial lasted just under four months and was marked by witness testimony that went strongly against the accused in the case. The defence team for the six suspects decided to call no witnesses, but Vidanapathirana and others issued statements from the accused box, pleading their innocence. They did not subject themselves to cross examination by state prosecutors. The judgment was delivered by High Court Judge Rohini Welgama, before a courtroom packed to capacity and overflowing with media personnel, lawyers and the victim’s family. Shaikh’s girlfriend, Alexandrona who gave harrowing testimony at the beginning of the trial, also arrived in Colombo to hear the verdict in the case. Khuram Shaikh’s family was also present in the courtroom to hear yesterday’s judgment delivered. The case garnered international attention, after Shaikh’s hometown MP Simon Danszuk and his brother, Nasser Shaikh led a campaign to bring his killers to justice. “Today is a symbolic moment: a day the country delivered justice – a day I delivered my promise to a brother,” Nasser Shaikh said, after his brother’s killers were sentenced. “Those who killed my brother have been punished and are now behind bars for a long time. Our campaign was not only about justice, but to bring awareness of the wonderful work my brother did around the world, working in humanitarian aid,” Shaikh said in a statement yesterday. “Today, the country has done what many people hoped and prayed for,” the victim’s brother observed. Nasser Shaikh thanked the British Government for being “instrumental in seeking answers “for his family and Sri Lankan officials for progressing the trial towards its resolution. “More importantly, I want to acknowledge the bravery and defiance shown by those who gave witness accounts in the case,” Khuram’s brother Nasser noted. The British High Commission in Colombo welcomed yesterday’s verdict and sentences handed down to Shaikh’s murderers. “We hope that this will bring some closure for his family and friends who have faced a long and difficult fight for justice,” the High Commission said in a statement released soon after the delivery of the verdict. The UK mission said the officials of the Attorney General’s office had shown great professionalism and integrity. “We would like to thank them. We will continue to monitor any developments in the case closely,” the statement added. The British Government applied heavy pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to act against Khuram Shaikh’s killers, especially in the lead up to the Commonwealth Summit in November last year. Attorneys for Vidanapathirana and the other convicts pledged to appeal the ruling.

Khuram Shaikh’s Russian girl friend Victoria Alexandrona outside the High Court

Pic by Shehan Gunaratne