(July 04, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The New York-based Human Rights Watch today slammed the British government for releasing and not prosecuting Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Colonel Karuna on war crime charges and called on the Sri Lankan government to try him for war crimes.
“The British government today regrettably allowed an abusive former Tamil Tiger leader who had been in its custody to return to Sri Lanka as a free man. Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute Karuna Amman, for war crimes committed as a commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and later as head of an anti-LTTE armed group,” the HRW said in a statement.
The human rights group said Tamil Tiger forces under Karuna’s command were directly involved in some of the worst crimes of Sri Lanka’s ongoing civil war, including torture, summary execution, and use of children as soldiers.
The HRW said the Sri Lankan government did not want to prosecute him because his armed group fought against the LTTE in recent years.
HRW Asia director Brad Adams said the British government had an alleged war criminal in custody for six months and couldn’t manage to file charges. “This was a rare opportunity to hold a leader of the Tamil Tigers accountable for horrific human rights abuses, and the British government blew it,” Adams said. Karuna fled Sri Lanka in October last year on a forged diplomatic passport obtained through a Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry recommendation. The passport bore his picture but had a name of a Sri Lankan wild life official. British immigration authorities arrested him on November 2, 2007 and hauled him before court for violating British immigration laws. Karuna served a six-month jail term.
The British government came under pressure to try Karuna for war crimes, but in May, the the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to convict Karuna for any war crimes under UK law.
But HRW pointed out that British law permits the prosecution of individuals for serious violations of international law, including torture and war crimes, committed abroad.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
“The British government today regrettably allowed an abusive former Tamil Tiger leader who had been in its custody to return to Sri Lanka as a free man. Human Rights Watch called on the Sri Lankan government to investigate and prosecute Karuna Amman, for war crimes committed as a commander of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and later as head of an anti-LTTE armed group,” the HRW said in a statement.
The human rights group said Tamil Tiger forces under Karuna’s command were directly involved in some of the worst crimes of Sri Lanka’s ongoing civil war, including torture, summary execution, and use of children as soldiers.
The HRW said the Sri Lankan government did not want to prosecute him because his armed group fought against the LTTE in recent years.
HRW Asia director Brad Adams said the British government had an alleged war criminal in custody for six months and couldn’t manage to file charges. “This was a rare opportunity to hold a leader of the Tamil Tigers accountable for horrific human rights abuses, and the British government blew it,” Adams said. Karuna fled Sri Lanka in October last year on a forged diplomatic passport obtained through a Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry recommendation. The passport bore his picture but had a name of a Sri Lankan wild life official. British immigration authorities arrested him on November 2, 2007 and hauled him before court for violating British immigration laws. Karuna served a six-month jail term.
The British government came under pressure to try Karuna for war crimes, but in May, the the Crown Prosecution Service said there was insufficient evidence to convict Karuna for any war crimes under UK law.
But HRW pointed out that British law permits the prosecution of individuals for serious violations of international law, including torture and war crimes, committed abroad.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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