Letter from Wife of Somaratna Rajapakse Draws Attention

10-Sep-2025

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The wife of Lance Corporal Somaratna Rajapakse, sentenced to death for the murder of schoolgirl Krishanti Kumaraswamy, had written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on July 10. 

Her letter, also copied to Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Justice Minister Harshan Nanayakkara, raised matters relating to the killing and the Chemmani mass graves, and requested a fresh independent inquiry.

She stated that apart from following Captain Lalith Hewage’s orders to bury the bodies of Krishanti and her family near Chemmani, her husband committed no other crime, and that he was willing to testify in any international inquiry on the Chemmani case.

Having received no response, Rajapakse’s wife sent another letter last week. She stated that in line with her husband’s advice, she would publicly disclose previously unrevealed details about the Chemmani killings to the media, international community, and judiciary.

On September 5, Justice Minister Harshan Nanayakkara’s private secretary Lahiru Samarasinghe acknowledged receipt of her July letter, confirming it had been brought to the Minister’s attention, under the subject “Appeal by a death-row soldier to the President.”