The Jaffna Magistrate’s Court yesterday (10 December 2025) directed former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to submit an affidavit detailing alleged threats to his life. The order, which requires a submission by 6 February 2026, was issued after Rajapaksa failed to appear for a scheduled hearing, with his lawyers citing security concerns as the justification for his absence.

The Magistrate emphasised that if the former President is unable to attend proceedings due to threats, these claims must be formally substantiated to ensure the legal process continues without further obstruction.

This directive stems from the long-running inquiry into the disappearance of human rights activists Lalith Kumar Weeraraju and Kugan Muruganandan. The two men were abducted in Jaffna on 10 December 2011 while organising a media briefing to mark World Human Rights Day. At the time, they were actively campaigning against enforced disappearances in the North. Eyewitness accounts allege the pair were taken by a group arriving in a white van and on motorcycles, an incident that occurred while the Jaffna peninsula remained under a strict security blanket.

The case has faced significant delays over the past 14 years. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who served as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence during the period in question, has been summoned to testify as a witness rather than an accused party. Petitioners in the habeas corpus case contend that, as the official ultimately in charge of the security apparatus at the time, he may hold vital information regarding the fate of the activists. However, proceedings have frequently stalled, with the former President previously obtaining interim orders against being summoned to Jaffna, consistently citing threats to his life as the primary obstacle to his attendance