12 STF officers arrested over killing of five youth in Trinco remanded further
Thursday, 15 August 2013 00:00
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A Sri Lankan court on Tuesday further remanded the 12 Special Task Force (STF) personnel arrested for the high profile killing of five Tamil students in Trincomalee in 2006. Trincomalee Magistrate A.L. Ashra remanded the 12 STF officers until 26 August when the suspects, including an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Trincomalee Police, were produced in Trincomalee Magistrate court.
The counsel for one of the suspects appealed to the court to allow his client bail to attend a family event and the Magistrate advised the suspect to obtain necessary advice from the Commissioner of Prisons as the State did not object to the appeal.
The killing of the five Tamil students took place on 2 January 2006 when they were playing on the beach. The five students were detained briefly and then shot to death. The authorities claimed that the students were LTTE terrorists and they were ready to lob a grenade. However, further investigations have revealed that the students were shot execution style.
The murders and subsequent efforts to cover up the involvement of security forces have drawn a huge outcry from international human rights groups as well as from local groups and the families of the victims.
Dr. Kasipillai Manoharan, the father of one of the students killed, appealed to international rights groups including the UN Human Rights Commission to investigate the crime and to provide justice to his son and other victims.
Human Rights Watch recently criticised Sri Lanka’s lack of progress in meting out justice in serious human right violations such as the killing of the five students and called for concerted international action.
