Disappeared Tamils' case adjourned due to Gotabhaya absence

<p>The trial around the disappearance of two Tamil men has been adjourned after Sri Lanka’s former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa failed to attend court to give testimony.</p> <p>The trial of the habeas corpus petition of two Tamil men known as Lalith and Kugan continued at the Jaffna Magistrate’s Court on June 21. The youths were forcibly disappeared from Jaffna in December 2011 while themselves helping to organise a protest for families of disappeared persons.</p> <p>Gotabhaya’s lawyer said that the former defence secretary was unable to appear before the court as he was recovering from heart surgery in Singapore.</p> <p>This month charges were filed in the US against Gotabhaya, with the presidential hopeful accused of overseeing torture and sexual violence during his time as defence chief.</p> <p>The case of Lalith and Kugan has been adjourned to September 27.</p>