Police face death for Tamil murders

By Amal Jayasinghe
BBC correspondent in Colombo

A court in Sri Lanka has sentenced two police officers to death for their involvement in the killing of 27 young Tamil men held in a detention centre.

The camp was destroyed after the attack

Judges have severely criticised the role of the police in the incident that drew widespread international condemnation.

Local residents stormed the detention centre in October 2000 where young Tamil Tiger suspects were being held. Some victims were said to have been burnt alive.

Eighteen people, including police officers faced trial.

The Colombo High Court handed down the death sentence to two police inspectors and three local residents of Bindunuwewa in the central district of Bandarawela in Sri Lanka where the massacre took nearly three years ago.

Killed and injured

Residents attacked the centre where the young rebel suspects were being held and began attacking them with clubs and knives.

People are sometimes held in the rehabilitation camps for long periods

Twenty-seven young Tamils were killed and another 14 escaped with serious injuries.

The massacre was triggered by reports that the inmates had taken a security guard hostage.

A three-judge bench found that there had been police involvement in the massacre, issued stricture on senior officers and awarded the death penalty to two inspectors.

The massacre had brought international attention to Sri Lanka's tough prevention of terrorism laws which allow the detention of suspects for long periods without trial.

However, the trial of the 18 men accused of instigating and carrying out the massacre was swift by Sri Lankan legal standards.

Thirteen of the men who faced trial were discharged due to lack of evidence.

The condemned men have the right to appeal.

Officials say the judgement could serve as a deterrent to security personnel and is a victory for human rights campaigners who have been complaining about the lack of accountability in Sri Lanka.