Richard de Zoysa

De Zoysa was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He was of mixed ethnicity, his father Lucien de Zoysa a majority Sinhalese and his mother Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu, a family physician from the minority Sri Lankan Tamil community. His mother's father, Manicasothy Saravanamuttu, was a prominent journalist and diplomat in Malaya.

He was educated at S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, where his acting talents in Sinhala were encouraged by D.S. Jayasekera. He was adjudged Best Actor in the English medium at the national inter-school Shakespeare Drama Competition in 1972. He was a member of the Debating Team and Drama Society along with Chanaka Amaratunga.

A notable role in Yuganthaya

At the time of his abduction and murder, de Zoysa was the head of the Colombo office of the Inter Press Service[1] He lived in the Welikadawatte housing estate with his mother, Dr Manorani Saravanamuttu and associate A. V. Karunaratne.[1] In the early morning of 18 February 1990, an armed group broke into their home, and forcibly removed de Zoysa and drove off without explanation.[2][1]

Saravanamuttu then hastily travelled to the Welikada police station and lodged a complaint. The following day, de Zoysa's lifeless body was dumped on the beach[3] at Moratuwa, some 12 miles south of Colombo. He had been shot in the head and the throat and his jaw had been broken.[1] His body was identified by his friend Taraki Sivaram, who suffered a similar fate in 2005.[1]

At the inquest the following day, Dr Saravanamuttu stated that she could identify two of the abductors. Three months later, she saw one of the abductors on television. He was a high-ranking police officer. She informed her lawyer who brought it to the notice of both the Magistrate conducting the inquiry into the incident and the police.[1]

However, the suspect was not arrested and the lead was ignored.[1] Both Dr Saravanamuttu and her lawyer, Batty Weerakoon, subsequently received death threats.[1] Police officers assigned to guard Batty Weerakoon has also received similar threats.[1] Dr Saravanamuttu later became an activist for missing people and died in 2004.

In 2005, Assistant Superintendent of Police Lal Priyantha Darmasiri Ranchagoda, Officer in Charge Bodeniya Gamlath Gedara Devasurendra and Sergeant Mahawedikkarage Sarathchandra were indicted for de Zoysa's murder.[4] They were acquitted of all charges on 9 November 2005 by Colombo High Court Judge Rohini Perera; she stated that the evidence presented by the prosecution was "contradictory and not credible".[5]