ICJ praised the courage of the two investigating magistrates

The International Commission for Jurists (ICJ), said the government needs to 'dispel concerns' on the murder investigation the killing of aid workers in Muttur, last year.

The organisations official observer at the inquests, Michael Birnbaum, QC, said the Sri Lankan authorities needed to carry out a credible investigation or seek foreign help in order to ensure a fair and speedy inquiry.

The atrocity was nothing but a murder, he added.

'Unprecedented' JSC order

The local employees of the charity, Action Against Hunger (Action Fame), were killed in August, last year.

They were found dead after a fierce battle in the town between government forces and Tamil separatists.

	SLMM accuse involvement of security forces in the killing

International monitors blamed Sri Lankan security forces for the killings, but the government rejected the accusations. Most of the aid workers were Tamils.

Birnbaum said the magistrates' probe was only an inquest, not a full probe in which the culprits identified.

"The government needs to dispel serious concerns about the judicial investigation," he told journalists in Colombo.

The Judicial Servicies Commission (JSC), he said, had made an "unprecedented" order to transfer the case to Anuradhapura magistrates' court, as Kanthale magistrates' court almost completed the investigation.

He paid tribute to the two magistrates who showed courage not to bide into the pressure exerted by the authorities.