Colombo Additional Magistrate Harshana Kekunawala ordered the Welikada Police yesterday (27) to keep the body of French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Jean-François Pactet (53), in the police mortuary until the family members of the Ambassador arrive in Sri Lanka.
The magistrate also issued an order to the forensic medical officer to conduct the post-mortem examination of Mr. A and submit a report to the court. However, the body of the Ambassador is to be kept until his next of kin arrive in the country.
Regarding the death, the Welikada police submitted a report to the court and stated that the French ambassador to Sri Lanka was living alone in his official residence in Rajagiriya and was found dead on a bed in the official residence on the 26th. The Welikada police informed the court that the complaint stated that the ambassador was found dead on a bed in the house when the chief security officers of the French Embassy inquired about him not waking up in the morning. Taking into consideration the facts presented, the magistrate ordered the Welikada police to keep the body of the deceased safely in the police mortuary.
Ambassador Pactet was born in 1970, and he was appointed as the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives since October 2022. He previously served as Deputy Director of Culture and Education at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France. During his tenure as the Deputy Director of Culture and Education, he was able to expand French language and cultural centers globally and supported international cooperation among French cultural and academic institutions. He managed the Ministry’s policies on global health, gender equality, and education, as well as French contributions to related multilateral funds from 2016 to 2019. From 2012 to 2016, he worked at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and the French Permanent Representation to NATO in Brussels. He also served as Deputy Spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
