The case filed against SLPP Presidential candidate Gotabhaya Rajapaksa by slain journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga’s daughter Ahimsa has been denied and dismissed by the California District Court in the U.S.

The case was filed in the US soon after Rajapaksa officially declared his intentions to run for the presidency in Sri Lanka.

Ahimsa Wickrematunga filed a case against Rajapaksa in the Court of Central California, alleging his involvement in her father Lasantha Wickrematunge’s 2009 assassination. Rajapaksa was the Secretary to the Defence Ministry at the time of Wickrematunga's assassination.

On 27 June, a petition was filed on behalf of Rajapaksa before the District Court, requesting dismissal of Ahimsa Wickrematunge’s civil suit.