Sri Lanka court frees former Tamil rebel leader

A former LTTE top rung leader was on Wednesday freed by a Sri Lankan court due to poor evidence in a case related to a 2001 attack on a military installation.

Sivasubramaniam Varadanathan alias Paduman was being freed due to poor evidence, High Court Judge Amal Ranarajah in the eastern port town of Trincomalee said.

Paduman was accused of attacking the Army installation at Palampattar in Trincomalee between July and December, 2001.

He was the LTTE’s military wing leader in the district during their unsuccessful separatist campaign that went on for nearly three decades.

The LTTE attacked the government troops and military installations often as part of its strategy.

Paduman was arrested by the military during the final victorious phase of the conflict in May 2009.

Most of the LTTE seniors surrendered to government troops then.