Suresh Sriskandarajah

Suresh Sriskandarajah is a Canadian citizen who pleaded guilty to U.S. charges of conspiring to provide material support to the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan terrorist organisation. He was sentenced to two years in U.S. prison. Interestingly, the Sri Lankan government sent a diplomatic note to ask U.S. to abandon the prosecution against Suresh “in light of his publicly recognized efforts to secure a lasting, peaceful reconciliation for the Tamil people”. Suresh was born in Sri Lanka. In 1989 his family fled to Montreal to avoid the violent civil war taking place in the northern part of the country.

In 2004, Suresh returned to Sri Lanka to help set up a technology training centre in the rebel capital, Kilinochchi. While he was there, he volunteered at an orphanage on the island’s east coast but on Boxing Day 2004, the Indian Ocean tsunami killed all but 20 of the 170 children. Sriskandarajah helped bury their bodies.

According to U.S. prosecutors, in 2004 he began working as a “facilitator” for the Tamil Tigers. Suresh was not involved in the purchase of weapons, but he helped research and buy aviation equipment, cell towers, submarine and warship design software and communications equipment, prosecutors alleged.

Suresh has been described as a gifted student, who was also active in campus activities, including a leadership role in the Tamil students association, and working on The Imprint the independent student newspaper. Suresh founded a web design company after earning his undergrad degree, and enrolled in the Master of Business Administration program at Wilfrid Laurier University—down the street from the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario.

American security officials sought to extradite Suresh in 2006, while he was working on his MBA. Suresh fought the extradition order in the Ontario courts. In January 2011 the Ontario Court of Appeals turned down his appeal of the extradition order. On December 14, 2012 the Supreme Court of Canada also rejected his appeal, and that of two other men. Suresh was extradited to the United States to face his charges. Although he had insisted on his innocence for over six years, Suresh pleaded guilty to all charges on July 3, 2013, about six months after his extradition. On October 28, 2013, he was sentenced to the equivalent of two years in prison for helping the Tamil Tigers.

Suresh has a background in technology and entrepreneurship. He has worked for leading companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and Blackberry. Suresh has operated 3 technology ventures and worked with the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurship to mentor over 40 technology start-ups. He received his BASc in Electrical Engineering and BA in Liberal Studies from the University of Waterloo. Suresh also obtained his MBA in Strategic Management from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. His areas of interests include IP law, media law, and corporate law.

Suresh is now studying law at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto, Canada. He serves as Fellow of IP Innovation Clinic, Osgoode Ambassador and Peer Mentor at Osgoode Hall.