Sri Lanka rights panel slams police over killing of torture victim

Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission said Monday the recent murder of a port worker who had won compensation for torture carried out by police could only harm public confidence in law enforcement.



Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission said Monday the recent murder of a port worker who had won compensation for torture carried out by police could only harm public confidence in law enforcement. The Supreme Court awarded Gerard Perera a record sum of US$ 8,000 earlier this year as compensation for the torture he suffered at the hands of police officers in 2003.

Perera was shot dead last month in mysterious circumstances just before the trial of his suspected police torturers was to start on December 2.

No charges have been filed so far over his murder.

"Given the fact that his torturers belonged to the police force, his murder will further erode public confidence in the police and replace it with fear," the Human Rights Commission (HRC) said in a statement.

It said the commission had summoned police Inspector General Chandra Fernando and officials of the attorney general's department to impress on them that the HRC will closely follow the murder investigation.

The HRC said