Sinhala doctors at a government hospital refused to treat Muslim victims that had been attacked by Sri Lankan security forces during riots in Kandy last week, reports JDS.
Abdul Saleel Mohamed Fazil, a local councillor, told JDS that commandos from Sri Lanka’s elite Special Task Force (STF) broke into his house and attacked him last week, as anti-Muslim violence flared in the area.
"I was with my friend Faizal, when the STF broke into the house,” he said. “The women and children started screaming as they were terrified. We were dragged down the steps by the STF members, thrust plastic bags filled with petrol on us and bound our hands and feet. They beat us with wooden poles, forcing to admit that we were plotting to attack Sinhala shops."
When the police were forced to take him to the hospital due to his injuries, the councillor says doctors there refused to treat him.
"The doctor accused me of being a 'Thambi' terrorist," he said, referring to a derogatory Sinhala slur for Muslims. He says other medical officers simply stood by.
“The doctors accused me of a Muslim terrorist who is destroying the country and asked the police officer to go and dump me in a cell.”
See more from JDS here.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
