Shoba also known as Shobana Dharmaraja (commonly known as Isaipriya or Isaippiriya; 1982–2009) was a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

journalist and television broadcaster for the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. She died in the final days of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009 with video evidence that she was captured by the

Sri Lankan military The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, and the Sri Lanka Air Force; they are governed by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lank ...

before being raped, tortured and murdered. A senior United Nations official deemed the footage to be authentic.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and Human Rights Watch also verified that it was her. A biopic about her,

Porkalathil Oru Poo ''Porkalathil Oru Poo'' () is an unreleased Indian Tamil-language film directed by K Ganeshan. It is based on the life of Isaipriya also known as "Lieutenant Colonel Issei Piriya", a journalist and television broadcaster for the rebel Liberation ...

was banned in India as it would harm friendly relations with

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Early life and family

Shoba was born in 1982 and hailed from

Delft Island Neduntheevu or Nedunthivu ( ta, நெடுந்தீவு, translit=Neṭuntīvu; ) (also known by its Dutch name Delft) is an island in the Palk Strait, northern Sri Lanka. This island is named as Delft in the Admiralty Chart unlike the othe ...

. She was educated at the Memorial School and Vembadi Girls' High School. Her family moved to the Vanni in 1995 after being displaced from their home by Operation Riviresa - the

's operation aimed at recapturing the Jaffna Peninsula. Shoba continued her education in Vanni before joining the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Shoba married a LTTE cadre in 2007 and had an infant daughter. Her daughter Akal was killed by

Sri Lanka Air Force The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) ( si, ශ්‍රි ලංකා ගුවන් හමුදාව, Śrī Laṃkā guwan hamudāva; ta, இலங்கை விமானப்படை, Ilaṅkai vimāṉappaṭai) is the air arm and the yo ...

bombing on 15 March 2009. Her husband was also killed in the final months of the civil war in 2009.

Career

According to the TamilNet website and Shoba's friends she suffered from rheumatic valvular heart disease and as such didn't provide any military service for the LTTE. Instead Shoba worked, under the stage name Isaipriya, as journalist and broadcaster for the LTTE's Oliveechchu television station in

Kilinochchi Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road som ...

. She was also an actress, singer and dancer.

Death

According to the

, Isaipriya, whom it describes as "Lieutenant Colonel Issei Piriya", was killed in battle by the 53 Division on 18 May 2009. However, according to TamilNet, Isaipriya had been a volunteer at the makeshift hospital in

Mullivaikkal Mullivaikkal(Mu’l’livaaykkaal) is a village located in Mullaitivu District, Vanni, Northern Province, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅka ...

until 8 May 2009 and had ended up at the internment camps in Vavuniya District. TamilNet claims that Isaipriya and another woman were taken away from the camps by the

Sri Lankan Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

on 23/24 May 2009. On 30 November 2010 Channel 4 News broadcast video footage which allegedly showed Sri Lankan soldiers summarily executing captured Tamils in the final phase of the civil war. The video showed a number of dead bodies including a naked woman with her hands behind her back. This woman was later identified as Isaipriya by several sources. An off-camera Sinhala voice is heard in the same video saying "I would like to fuck it again" in the segment showing the dead naked bodies of Isaipriya and Ushalini Gunalingam. A witness found by Human Rights Watch claims to have seen Isaipriya 15 May 2009 wearing the same clothes that were next to her in the Channel 4 News video. There were signs that she may have been sexually assaulted. On 31 October 2013, Channel 4 News broadcast new video footage which showed Isaipriya alive and in the custody of the Sri Lankan military. She is shown half naked and disorientated, and the Sri Lankan soldiers initially believe her to be Dwaraka, daughter of the LTTE leader

V. Prabhakaran Velupillai Prabhakaran (; ta, வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன்; , (26 November 1954 – 18 May 2009) was a Sri Lankan Tamil guerrilla and the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ...

. Photographs are also shown of Isaipriya lying in a ditch, possibly dead, with a gash across her face and clear signs of sexual assault. According to lawyers Isaipriya's "murder" by the Sri Lankan military constitutes a war crime. Isaipriya's family were unaware of her capture and murder until the Channel 4 News broadcast. Her mother told Channel 4 News that she had always thought that Isaipriya had been killed by shelling. Her mother and sisters sought political asylum in UK.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaipriya 1982 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Indian musicians Alumni of Vembadi Girls' High School Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam members People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People killed during the Sri Lankan Civil War People murdered in Sri Lanka Sri Lankan murder victims Sri Lankan Tamil actresses Sri Lankan Tamil journalists Sri Lankan Tamil musicians Violence against women in Sri Lanka Rape in Sri Lanka

Early life and family

Career

Death

See also

References