The International Commission of Jurists issues the second report of its observer Michael Birnbaum QC, into the investigation into the killing of 17 Action Contre la Faim (ACF) aid workers in Muttur in August 2006. The ICJ finds that there are serious concerns about significant flaws in the police investigation, reflecting a lack of impartiality, transparency and effectiveness, as well as about the ballistics evidence.
Source
Sri Lanka – ICJ issues statement regarding investigation into killing of 17 ACF aid workers, International Commission of Jurists, 5 July 2007.
Extracts from the report
“The collection of evidence has been incomplete and inadequate. In particular, as of March 2007, eight months after the killings took place, the ICJ was informed by the CID that no member of the Sri Lankan security forces had been interviewed nor any Tamil, apart from the family members of those killed. The ICJ has sought an update from the Government on the investigation. The Sri Lankan security forces will need to be extensively questioned about their knowledge of the killings and surrounding circumstances, especially those present in Muttur around the time of the killings. The local Tamil community should also be interviewed, as well as further interviews with other members of the community. This will require extensive questioning of people who were in Muttur at the time and the establishment of an effective witness protection programme. …
“On two occasions the police did not comply with orders of the Magistrate in charge of the inquest that were designed to guarantee the integrity of the evidence. Firstly, the Magistrate had ordered that the ballistics exhibits should be brought to the Court by the pathologist, Dr. Waidaratne. But on 6 December 2006 the exhibits where brought to the Court by a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer. Secondly, the CID failed to comply with an order that the sealed exhibits should be opened only in the presence of an Australian expert observer,” Michael Birnbaum, QC, Observer on behalf of the ICJ, July 2007.
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