COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – The government will expedite prosecution of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) cadres who were involved in serious crimes, while rehabilitating others charged with minor offenses, acting Attorney General Palitha Fernando said Tuesday (July 10th). All the cases will be heard within three months.

Following a recommendation by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), President Mahinda Rajapaksa in January 2011 appointed a committee to investigate the cases of the LTTE suspects and determine ways to expedite their cases as well as who will be prosecuted and who will be rehabilitated.

"The preliminary investigations carried out by the Terrorist Investigations Division (TID) have found some former LTTE cadres to have allegedly committed serious war crimes such as bombing, killing civilians and attacking economically sensitive places while the others are alleged to have committed minor offences and can be considered for rehabilitation," Fernando said.

Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms Ministry Secretary A. Dissanayaka said 670 hardcore LTTE cadres are in custody, while 700 others will be considered for rehabilitation.