Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan has been authorised to attend the inaugural parliamentary session on Thursday 20th August as well as future sessions affirmed the Batticaloa High Court today, despite him currently being held in custody over the 2005 Christmas Day murder of Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham.
The announcement was made in response to an appeal by Sivanesathurai’s lawyers seeking authorisation to attend the sessions.
Pillayan is a paramilitary leader accused of committing executions and other human rights abuses with the support of the Sri Lankan state. A firm supporter of the Rajapaksa regime, he contested in the parliamentary elections as part of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Party (TMVP) and attained the most votes in Batticaloa with over 54,000 votes. Tamil observers have commented that his party exploited tensions between Tamils and Muslims in the East as part of election campaigning.
Pillayan has been in remand custody for the assassination of Pararajasingham since October 2015.
