28 June, 2006 - Published 12:12 GMT

HRW: Govt should protect witness

International human rights watchdogs have called on the authorities in Sri Lanka to do more to ensure the safety of witnesses in the case of five Tamil students allegedly killed by security forces earlier this year.

New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it was concerned that the only prosecution witness willing to testify in the case had received several death threats.

Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan, a father of one of the murdered students, has for months been the target of deadly threats, according to HRW.

“Dr. Manoharan has courageously come forward to testify about the brutal killings of these five young men,” HRW Asia director Brad Adams said.

“The Sri Lankan government should show a fraction of his courage and take urgent measures to control its security forces and protect the doctor and other witnesses who may wish to testify.”

The autopsy has revealed that the students have died because of the gunshot injuries in the head.

But the security authorities initially said they died while trying to lob a grenade at the security forces.

Members of the Special Task Force (STF) and police have been accused of killing the students in the eastern town of Trincomalee in January.

The incident led to increased community tension in the region where all three major communities share nearly equal representation.

The defendants deny the allegations.