Court summons JMO in Tissainayagam case

[TamilNet, Sunday, 16 November 2008, 16:57 GMT]
Colombo High Court re-issued summons on the Judicial Medical Officer to be present on Tuesday when the case against a senior journalist J.S.Tissanayagam who has been detained for more than eight months was taken up Friday under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). The court was informed that the JMO had failed to appear in court though summoned, legal sources said.

Mr.Tissanayagam said in evidence last week regarding his eye condition. He said he had degenerative myopia from the age of seven and a serious accident when he was eighteen that led him to have detached retina in both eyes. After the operation he had only about fifty percent vision in both eyes and that doctors had advised him to be very careful that any sudden movement or fall or blow to the head could make the condition recur and he could lose his sight. He informed the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) officers about his eye condition very early on in his detention, Tissainayagam told the Court.

Tissainayagam added that despite this information, TID officers had threatened him that they would beat him up like the other detainees. The officers continued to threaten him on a daily basis, and he lived under constant fear of becoming blind if the TID officers did beat him as threatened, Tissainayagam told the court.

Counsel Anil Silva with Counsel M.A.Sumanthiran, Nalin Laduwahetty and Ms Charmaine Gooneratne appeared for Tissanayagam.

State Counsel Sudharsana de Silva with Counsel Ms. Samalka Samarasinghe appeared for the TID.

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