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Sri Lankan court orders remains of popular editor to be exhumed

Xinhua, September 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

A local court in Colombo on Thursday ordered investigators to exhume the remains of popular editor and journalist Lasantha Wickremetunga who was killed in January 2009.

The Mount Lavinia Magistrate Court issued the order considering a request made by the Criminal Investigations Department.

The body is expected to be exhumed on Sept. 27, according to court orders.

Wickrematunge was the founding editor of the privately-run Sunday Leader newspaper. He was shot dead in January 2009 by a group of unidentified men in a high security zone, while he drove to work in broad daylight.

He was a staunch critic of the former government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, who has denied any role in the editor's killing.

The Sri Lankan government led by Maithripala Sirisena, who came to power in January 2015, had reopened investigations into Wickremetunga's murder, pledging to commence a thorough investigation and arrest all those involved in the killing. Endit