A special High Court dedicated to deal with drug offenses is set to open Tuesday at the capital Colombo's main Welikada prison.

According to Justice Minister Amarasiri Dodangoda, suspects of drug related cases have come under attack from rival groups while being transferred from the prison to the court.

"This move to set up a court inside the prison will help us to prevent that type of violence," said Dodangoda.

Sri Lanka had experienced several incidents of drug barons coming under attack while being transferred in prison vehicles to the court to face charges in the past.

Commissioner General of Prisons Rumy Marzook said that after the main Welikada prison, similar High Courts will be set up in other prisons elsewhere in the island. More...

Discuss this story Published: Tue Mar 28 20:23:47 EST 2006

Muslims Sri Lanka - 's second-largest minority after ethnic Tamils can speak the Tamil language and generally oppose the Tamil Tigers, who have accused Muslims of supporting the government. The rebels also oppose Muslims cultivating land in areas they consider Tamil territory.

During two decades of civil war that was halted by a Norway brokered cease-fire in 2002, the rebels carried out systematic killings of Muslims, including a massacre in August 1990 of 130 Muslims at two mosques on the same day.

Tens of thousands of Muslims fled northern Sri Lanka - 's Jaffna Peninsula after the rebels started their separatist campaign there in 1983. Many migrated to the east, before the rebels began to increasingly assert their control over that region as well.

Sri Lanka - 's eastern province has been the hotbed of violence in the two-decade conflict, which has killed more than 65,000.

The truce has come under severe strain due to spiraling violence, with more than 166 people, including 87 government security personnel, killed since December.

Both sides agreed in Geneva, Switzerland last month to scale down violence and meet again for talks next month. Discuss this story Published: Tue Mar 28 09:24:03 EST 2006

Kaileshan Thanabalasingham was one of the main targets of Project 1050, a joint police and immigration investigation that ended with the arrest of close to 51 alleged gang members on Oct. 18, 2001.

The majority of the accused were charged under a section of the immigration act that prohibits involvement in a criminal organization, marking the first time street gangs were classified as ``organized crime'' under immigration laws.

Known in Toronto's Tamil community as Kailesh, the 36-year-old father was accused of leading the VVT gang, a west Toronto group that was formed in the early 1990s and named for Valvettithurai, a northern Sri Lankan town.

Thanabalasingham denied he led the VVT, or that his criminal convictions _ possessing a machete in 1996 and a 1998 conspiracy to commit assault for trying to acquire guns for others _ were related to gang membership.

A January Immigration and Refugee Board decision that cleared the way for his removal classified both convictions as gang-related and also noted Thanabalasingham was known to visit incarcerated gang members.

``It's quite instructive that the appellant took it upon himself to attend court when gang members were charged with criminal offences, to assist in preparing their defence and then visit them in jail when incarcerated. He acted like a shepherd tending to his flock,'' wrote IRB appeal division member Egya Sangmuah in his Jan. 6 decision.

Thanabalasingham's lawyer, Barbara Jackman, had argued that as a Tamil, he would be targeted by the Sri Lankan government if returned home due to media reports that have linked the VVT to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, a guerrilla group fighting the Singhalese government for independence.

Sangmuah dismissed claims that Thanabalasingham would face danger.

``The Minister (of Immigration) does not allege that the appellant or the VVT is connected to the LTTE,'' he wrote. ``(E)ven if the appellant is wrongly perceived as a member of the LTTE, he will likely not face persecution.''

Jackman said Monday she believed her client was being punished unfairly since he had already been sentenced for his criminal activity.

Thanabalasingham came to Canada in July 1991 and was granted refugee status, then became a landed immigrant on Aug. 31, 1992. Police believe he became leader of the VVT in 1997, after the two former alleged leaders, Sri Ranjan Rasa and Niranjan Claude Fabian, were arrested (the men remain in Canada fighting their deportation).

``For three years the Tamil community was held hostage by two gangs vying for control in Toronto,'' said Det. Sgt. Greg Getty, head of Project 1050, in an interview Monday before Thanabalasingham was escorted on a 10:40 p.m. flight out of Toronto.

``If he does get deported, it's a great day for the Tamil community.'' (Toronto Star) Discuss this story Published: Tue Mar 28 08:21:26 EST 2006