Two new books by Prof. Ravindra Fernando, An Explosion in the Parliament of Sri Lanka – Aftermath of the Indo-Lanka Accord and Torture and Deaths in Custody in Sri Lanka were published by Vijitha Yapa Publishers recently.
The 1987 grenade explosion in the Parliament of Sri Lanka, where District Minister Keerthi Abeywickrama and staff member Norbert Senadheera were killed and the National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was seriously injured, is described in the first book.
After signing the Jayewardene Gandhi accord, JVP member Ajith Kumara threw two hand grenades when the UNP parliamentary group met under the Chairmanship of President Jayewardene, who narrowly escaped death. Prof Fernando was involved in the investigation of this incident from the beginning and he performed the post-mortem on Senadheera, who died of a shrapnel injury of the head. Prof Fernando describes torture and deaths in custody in Sri Lanka in the last few decades in the second book. After tracing the history and medico-legal aspects of torture in Sri Lanka, he highlightss the torture and murder of professionals and others for political reasons, sexual torture and mass murder in prison and detention centres in Sri Lanka.
He describes the deaths of Richard de Zoysa and Rohana Wijeweera and also discusses the State’s responses to torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and deaths in custody.