Person
Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman)
Listed from published reports. Appearing here is not a finding of wrongdoing.
See on the map
Details
- Also known as
- Karuna Amman, Colonel Karuna
- Role
- Former LTTE commander who split from the group in 2004 and later became a government minister
- Status
- Questioned by the Criminal Investigation Department for over four hours in an abduction inquiry, reported 6 October 2026, after questioning in December 2024 over a 2006 disappearance; no charge reported. In June 2020 Human Rights Watch said he had never been held accountable for his alleged crimes
Connections (5)
- Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman) / Former commander; split from, 2004 / Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
- Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman) / Led / Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP)
- The group, the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, is said by the UN, Human Rights Watch and others to have been responsible for enforced disappearances, torture and child recruitment, according to the article.23 Jun 2020 · Human Rights Watch · Sri Lanka Investigates Rebel Leader Turned Politician
- Mahinda Rajapaksa / Appointed as a government minister, 2009 / Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman)
- Gotabaya Rajapaksa / Said by Karuna to have provided his fake diplomatic passport / Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman)Allegation
- Human Rights Watch says Karuna was arrested in the UK in 2007 for travelling on a false document and testified that the then-defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, provided his fake diplomatic passport. The article carries no response from Rajapaksa.23 Jun 2020 · Human Rights Watch · Sri Lanka Investigates Rebel Leader Turned Politician
- The Sunday Times reported on 20 January 2008 that Karuna pleaded guilty to breaching the UK ID Card Act 2006 after entering Britain on a diplomatic passport allegedly issued by the Sri Lankan government, which carried a different name and the designation “Director of Wild Life”. Deputy Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila told Parliament he had no knowledge of the passport or the note that backed the visa. The article does not mention Gotabaya Rajapaksa.20 Jan 2008 · The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) · Karuna pleads guilty, faces jail
- Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (Colonel Karuna Amman) / Forces implicated, per Human Rights Watch, in wartime killings / The Sri Lankan civil war, 1983 to 2009Allegation
- Human Rights Watch says forces under his command were implicated in the summary execution of several hundred police officers in June 1990 after they surrendered, and allegedly killed more than 200 civilians in Batticaloa district that August. It says he has never been held accountable; the authorities ordered an investigation in 2020 after he boasted of killing soldiers. The article carries no response from him.23 Jun 2020 · Human Rights Watch · Sri Lanka Investigates Rebel Leader Turned Politician
- Jaffna Monitor reported on 6 October 2026 that the CID questioned him for over four hours in an abduction inquiry, without saying which case; in December 2024 he was questioned over the 2006 disappearance of the Eastern University vice chancellor. It also reports that Britain imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on him and three former military commanders in March 2025 over alleged serious human rights violations during the war.6 Oct 2026 · Jaffna Monitor · Karuna Amman Questioned for More Than Four Hours in Abduction Inquiry