Swissinfo on 14th June reported that the Swiss Federal Criminal Court has given no prison terms to alleged financiers of the Sri Lankan Tamil separatist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). The 13 accused were either given suspended custodial sentences or acquitted. 8 of the 13 on the docks were acquitted of all charges and the others were only found guilty of fraud. The 13 defendants – 12 Tamils or Swiss citizens of Tamil origin plus 1 German – were accused of participating in or supporting a criminal organisation, fraud, forgery, money laundering and extortion. The court said accusations of participation in and support of a criminal organisation did not stand and released all of the accused. The article reminds its readers that the “Tamil Tigers” fought the Sri Lankan government from 1983 until its defeat in 2009 and that the movement claimed independence from northern Ceylon, populated mostly by Tamils.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/court-case_no-jail-for-swiss-tamil-tiger-financiers/44190280
