Death sentences carried out by the police in Sri Lanka

Arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings are an almost daily occurrence in Sri Lanka today. The police system and additional institutions expected to be the protectors of law have become so dysfunctional and politicized that illegalities predominantly are carried out in their names.

Extrajudicial killings are marked illustrations of how lawlessness reigns in the country after the rule of law system has broken down. The killings are symbols of the exceptional lack of respect for legal procedures and the rights of the citizens to such within the security agencies.

When essential mechanisms in what was supposed to be a rule of law system have ceased to function, the police do not have options or resources to conduct proper investigations. However, they are still required to clear up the cases. Killing as a solution is thereby a simple rationale.

In some cases death occurs due to the 'heat of the moment' where police officers might not have had the intention to kill, but violence and frustrations get out of hand. However, as just a quick overview of the cases the AHRC has reported in 2010 shows, most killings are clearly intended as a pattern of characteristic police procedure becomes visible.

Read the full story here at the AHRC website

Article written by Sofie Rordam, intern at RCT partner organization AHRC