A Sri Lankan man suffered gunshot injuries after police opened fire to control a domestic dispute between the victim and his wife at Molligoda-Wadduwa in the outskirts of the commercial capital of Colombo on Saturday afternoon.
The victim whom police described as a drug addict had allegedly slashed his wife’s throat with a jagged piece of glass outside a wayside hotel over a heated quarrel.
Police said that initially they had fired into the air to bring the situation under control but were later forced to open fire on the victim in order to save the woman from further harm.
Both the man and woman are currently being treated at the Panadura Base Hospital, police said.
It was only the other day that the country’s Public Security Minister Tiran Alles urged police to use their official issue firearms on violent elements saying it was not a ‘sin’ to eliminate criminals.
The Minister’s remark made at a police passing out parade has since drawn flak from rights and legal activists across the political divide.
Joining the chorus of protests this week was a young lawyer’s collective who said that no criminal should be punished until proven guilty in a court of law.
“We vehemently condemn the statement made by Minister Tiran Alles that it is not a sin to eliminate the criminals, which gives an impression to somebody that the country does not have a proper legal system,” Secretary Young Lawyers Association Attorney Jayantha Dehiaththage said.
“Alles being the Public Security Minister should be responsible for the security of each and every person in the society, be it a criminal or not. Until proven guilty every criminal is a suspect. If the criminals are to be shot or eliminated without a fair trial, what shall we tell their families?” Attorney Dehiaththage questioned.
“We have observed that most of these criminals found in the underworld and those connected to drug-related crimes are victims of poverty and from the lower levels of society. The most righteous statement to make would be to transform a society where criminals are not produced,” Dehiaththage said.
Attorney Thanuka Nandasiri said it is shameful for a Minister to threaten the country’s lawyers saying that their names would be publicized for appearing for criminals.
“We do not have any requirement to protect criminals. Until proven guilty every offender is a suspect. If nobody is appearing for a suspect, how could that person prove his innocence?
Tiran Alles should know that lawyers are also part of the judicial system like judges. The minister has no right to defame lawyers by making such a statement,” Attorney Nandasiri said.
