Mother, 2 sons seek protection with HRC Jaffna

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 August 2007, 21:35 GMT]
A widow, with her two sons, have sought protection with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Jaffna office Thursday after being threatened with death by paramilitary members operating with the Sri Lanka Army (SLA), sources in Jaffna said. Armed paramilitaries had gone to the woman's house in Kurunakar in Jaffna Wednesday around 3:00 p.m and threatened her family, according to her complaints registered at the HRC office. Meanwhile, the other person surrendered is a 31-year-old family man from Thenmaradchy.

Selvarasa Vijitha, 38, and her sons Seyon, 18, and Johnson, 13, said they fear for their lives, and that they need to be placed in protective custody where they can feel safe.

Johnson suffers from eye defect, his mother said.

HRC officials have approached the Jaffna District Judge to keep the four civilians in the Jaffna prison to save their lives.

Meanwhile, eight civilians had surrendered to the HRC, Jaffna office in last July, the HRC sources said. Out of the eight, three were family men.

Moreover, 18 complaints of disappearances too were registered at the office in the same month.