Jurists say barred from Sri Lanka massacre inquest

By Staff
|
Google Oneindia News

GENEVA, Oct 4 (Reuters) The International Committee of Jurists (ICJ) today said Sri Lanka had refused to allow it to send an observer to the inquest into the killing of 17 aid workers in the northeast of the country in August.

The Geneva-based body, linking 60 leading lawyers and judges from around the globe, said it had planned to send a senior British barrister but had been told by the Sri Lankan authorities that he would not get a visa.

''It is regrettable that the (Sri Lankan) government has chosen not to allow our independent international observer to attend this vital inquest,'' ICJ Secretary-General Nicholas Howen said in a statement.

At a time when UN human rights officials have warned that national investigations have failed to bring justice to victims of extra-judicial killings in the country, Howen said it was important for the government to show that inquests and trials ''are open, transparent and credible''.

Nordic monitors of the fragile truce between the Sri Lankan army and Tamil Tiger rebels in late August formally accused government soldiers of being behind the execution-style killings of the aid workers.

The government denies this, and officials have accused the monitors of being biased in favour of the rebels.

The 17 were mainly Tamils employed by non-governmental aid agency Action Contre la Faim (Action against Hunger). Their bodies were found in their office compound in the town of Muttur after a battle in the area between the army and the rebels.

The inquest began in Muttur but has since been transferred twice, and the presiding magistrate had summoned witnesses to appear this week in the town of Kantale.

The government should ensure that they are ''properly protected against threats to their lives and well-being'', the ICJ said, and the inquest should be the first stage in establishing who was responsible for the deaths.

REUTERS DKA BD2355

For Daily Alerts
Get Instant News Updates
Enable
x
Notification Settings X
Time Settings
Done
Clear Notification X
Do you want to clear all the notifications from your inbox?
Settings X
X