Three Aussies to stand trial for raising funds for Tigers

THREE Australians accused of raising funds for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers terror organisation have been committed to stand trial in a Victorian court.

Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 33, and Sivarajah Yathavan, 36, both from Melbourne, and Arumugan Rajeevan, 41, from Sydney, are charged with being members of a banned terrorist organisation.

Vinayagamoorthy, of Mount Waverley, Yathavan, of Vermont South and Rajeevan of Old Toongabbie in Sydney's west, also face several charges of raising funds and providing resources for Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers.

Their committal hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court, was told an investigation by Australian Federal Police resulted in a raid on a premises occupied by Vinayagamoorthy in November 2005, in Melbourne's eastern suburbs, where police seized several items.

The AFP investigation eventually led to the arrests of the three accused men in May 2007.

In addition to Australian police, several Sri Lankan legal, military, naval and police gave evidence at the hearing which began on September 13, and suffered several delays, before finishing yesterday.

Magistrate Peter Reardon yesterday committed the men to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court for engaging in terrorism related offences in Australia.

The trial was expected to begin in September next year.

Sri Lanka's foreign ministry issued a statement saying the committal signalled a clear acceptance of the view by the magistrate that the LTTE "is an international terrorist organisation threatening the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka".

Courtesy: Sunday Mail