A cross-party group of British parliamentarians, including several former ministers, have urged the Foreign Secretary to make progress on an international justice mechanism to achieve accountability in Sri Lanka, following the pardoning of a Sri Lankan soldier convicted for the murder of 8 Tamil civilians.
In a letter to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, 11 MPs and one member of the House of Lords said they were deeply disappointed by reports of the soldier [Sunil Ratnayake’s] release.
The parliamentarians said that the reversal of “one of the rare convictions” sent a “clear message that military personnel perpetrating horrific crimes, even if convicted through a court of law, will be pardoned and released.”
“We call on Her Majesty’s Government to express its disappointment at Sri Lanka’s action. Given that this is yet another example of Sri Lanka’s failure to deliver justice to the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the conflict, we urge the United Kingdom to work with international partners to make progress on an international justice mechanism to achieve accountability.”
Signatories:
Lord Barwell
Bob Blackman MP
Elliot Colburn MP
Ed Davey MP
Robert Halfon MP
Siobhain McDonagh MP
Andrew Rosindell MP
Wes Streeting MP
Sam Tarry MP
Gareth Thomas MP
Stephen Timms MP
Theresa Villiers MP
