(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Former journalist Keith Noyahr has been asked to appear in court to identify the suspects arrested over his abduction and assault.
The Mount Lavinia Additional Magistrate instructed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to request Noyahr to appear for an identification parade on March 3.
The Magistrate also requested the local and international media not to expose the identity of the suspects arrested over the incident as they have not been found guilty and the case is ongoing.
An Army Major and four soldiers were arrested over the abduction. Noyahr was abducted in May 2008 and was severely assaulted before being set free.
The former Associate Editor of The Nation newspaper fled the country with his family following the incident fearing for his life.
His abduction followed a series of threats issued against him, and, according to Keith’s close associates, seemingly because of his regular contributions to The Nation’s weekly defence column published under the nom-de-plume Senpathi.
Noyahr had failed to return home after leaving his office the day he was abducted. His wife alerted police and media when she found the journalist’s car abandoned at their front gate with the engine running. He was found hours later near his home, barely able to walk.
The abduction in 2008 came shortly after Sri Lanka’s bid to be elected to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva failed.
