Activists and media freedom organisations have objected to the promotion of a military intelligence officer named in the enforced disappearance case of journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda.

In a letter addressed to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Prageeth Ekneligoda’s wife Sandya Ekneligoda said she learned through media reports that Lt. Col. Erantha Radeesh Peiris had been promoted to the rank of Colonel. She said she strongly opposed the decision, noting that Peiris is a defendant in the ongoing criminal case relating to her husband’s disappearance in 2010.

Peiris is among several military intelligence officers charged in connection with the case. According to the letter, the Attorney General filed 17 indictments against him in 2019, including a charge of murder. Criminal Investigation Department investigations have identified him as being directly involved in the abduction, she said. Sandya Ekneligoda warned that conferring a senior rank on an officer facing serious criminal allegations could undermine the judicial process. She said the promotion risks influencing witnesses, discouraging investigating officers, and weakening confidence in the administration of justice.

She also referred to a separate ongoing case in which a retired senior officer, who is also an accused in the Ekneligoda case, is alleged to have threatened a key witness.

Civil society organisations and press freedom groups said the promotion damages public confidence in accountability for enforced disappearances and undermines trust in the rule of law.

Courtesy; Daily FT