Sri Lanka: HRW demands trial of Karuna in Britain for war crimes

Monday, 05 November 2007

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) wants British government to try former Karuna group head, Karuna Amman, for war crimes. Karuna, who is now detained in Britain on immigration charges, is being accused by rights groups of child soldier recruitment, extortion, abduction and torture before and after he split from the LTTE in 2004.

The British Home Office said late on Friday Karuna was detained after a joint operation by the police and immigration authorities, without giving further details.

"Given the magnitude of Karuna''s crimes over the years, including attacks on civilians and use of child soldiers, Human Rights Watch strongly urges the UK government to explore the possibility of prosecuting him for war crimes and other international offences before returning him to Sri Lanka," Reuters reports quoting HRW’s senior legal adviser Jim Ross as saying.

Britain is a signatory to the International Criminal Court but Sri Lanka is not and the court is not investigating the conflict in the island.

However Ross cast doubt over Karuna’s trial UK law.

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Jay said:

Considering the crimes he had committed, he should be tried in London. Sri Lankan government certainly would not like this as this indirectly reveal the crimes, atrocities committed by the government's forces. If UK deport him to Sri Lanka and he will go scorch free or he will be killed by the government as he is now a great liability and has no further use for them.

2007-11-06 06:49:30

Keshav said:

I would like to ask a serious question to the viewers that one year before former Batticaloa parlimentarian Mr. Joseph Parararajasingam was assassinated by unidentified gunmen. It is still cristally clear that the assassination was carried by Karuna Group. Karuna has directly involved in this plot. What was the result of the investigation of the Govt's intellegence group. Certainly i feel the UK government must interrogate him under internations war crimes trial's court and must punish him without grace. Perhaps he deported to Sri Lanka, there will be more chance for him to commit the crime again...." A delayed justice is equeal to hang that man"

2007-11-07 01:48:32

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