Jurists charge SL Government forces of extra-judicial killings, torture

[struggle4progress]

TamilNet, Friday, 02 March 2007, 21:22 GMT

Anti-terrorism laws in Sri Lanka have led to widespread and systematic rights abuses, a panel of global jurists said on Friday, charging Sri Lanka government forces of extra-judicial killings and torture, Reuters reported in a story datelined 2 March from New Delhi. The panel expressed concern over "extra-judicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions" by troops in the Indian Ocean island nation," the report added. Meanwhile, the Dutch government in a cabinet meeting today decided that "no Tamil asylum seekers would be sent back to Sri Lanka until 1 July," reports in Dutch media said.

Dutch cabinet said it will not take any decisions on asylum applications from Tamils in the coming months.

The cabinet said that the situation in Sri Lanka had deteriorated because fights have broken out between government troops and Tamil Tigers, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

The Jurist panel was appointed in 2005 by the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists to investigate the impact of "terrorism" and counter-terrorism measures on the rule of law and human rights.

The group concluded a visit to India on Friday where it met relevant authorities and affected people from Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives, and is visiting Pakistan next, Reuters said.

The expert panel said the re-introduction of counter-terrorism measures and emergency laws, including a "wide arsenal of terrorism-related offences that can be used to criminalise anybody connected to any broadly defined terror suspect" had led to widespread and systematic rights abuses, Reuters reported.

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