International human rights bodies concerned about attack on JSC Secretary

Wednesday, 10 October 2012 

The attack on the Secretary of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) Manjula Thilekaratne on Sunday (7) in Mt. Lavinia has been taken into account by international human rights bodies like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Article 19.

A special representative from a leading international human rights body said that the attack would have an adverse impact on Sri Lanka when the country’s human rights situation would be taken up for discussion at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions next March.

The representative expressed concern over the law and order situation in rural Sri Lankan since the secretary of a high level commission like the JSC could be assaulted in the country’s capital and the assailants manage to escape without being caught.

The human rights officials said the US and the EU countries that sponsored a resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC were closely monitoring the attack on the JSC Secretary and the actions taken by the Sri Lankan government.

The official noted that the incident would be a turning point for the government if it tries to sweep the issue under the carpet.