Sri Lanka’s ex-warlord jailed in UK

Published January 26, 2008

LONDON: A former Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla leader was jailed for nine months in Britain on Friday after being found guilty of having false documents, the Home Office said.

Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, also known as Colonel Karuna, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in London after admitting the charge at a lower court on Dec 24 last month.

He was charged under the Identity Cards Act 2006 after entering Britain illegally, a Home Office spokeswoman said.

Karuna was reportedly arrested in London in November.

International human rights group Amnesty International has called for British authorities to investigate whether he can be prosecuted here for international war crimes, including abducting and using child soldiers.—AFP

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