News(AP) - A United Nations committee that monitors acts of torture in member countries grilled an intelligence chief yesterday over the alleged abuse of detainees during Sri Lanka's bloody civil war, only to have the nation's attorney general step in to deflect the questions. A U.N. report last year documented evidence of "premeditated and systematic" torture by some of Mendis' subordinates when he was a top police official during the recent war. Sri Lanka Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya, who led the country's delegation to the Geneva hearing, said it would respond in writing to the questions within 48 hours and provide "comprehensive answers to the areas where we can." Sri Lanka's civil war ended in 2009 when government forces defeated Tamil Tiger rebel fighting to create a separate state for ethnic minority Tamils. The U.N.'s Human Rights Council last year unanimously approved a resolution to increase post-war accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

Source: Sunday Times November 17, 2016 11:37 UTC