Professionals under pressure in Sri Lanka: who protects the protectors? 61 Professionals under pressure in Sri Lanka: who protects the protectors? Torture, despite an absolute prohibition under the Island’s written law, is widespread in Sri Lanka. This violation is not only inflicted upon private persons but often also against persons protecting or defending victims of human rights violations, such as lawyers, activists, journalists and public officials seeking to enforce the law indiscriminately. Several instances have been reported where such persons have been harassed, threatened or even killed. In 2002 police officers were accused of raping and torturing a female victim. Following these allegations, the victim was arrested and her family and lawyers were harassed, leading to the resignation of two of the lawyers. Furthermore, the examining doctor gave a clearance certificate to the police, which was only remedied when the victim’s third lawyer managed to the get the victim released on bail and produced her to a Judicial Medical Officer for a second medical examination. After two international email campaigns run by the lawyer and Amnesty International, the accused police officers were some of the first to be indicted under the domestic Convention against Torture Act. This led to further mental and physical intimidation of the victim and her family and harassment of the remaining lawyer. In 2005 a High Court judge was killed while investigating army personnel accused of mass murder and a torture victim was shot dead. In 2008, the house of a human rights lawyer was attacked with grenades and a female doctor and another complainant in a torture case were assassinated. Every year many others are reported as threatened and/or harassed, including women and children. Unfortunately, even though it is widely believed that medical professionals also frequently come under threat and influence, only the above-mentioned incident has been reported. Nonetheless, the indications that some doctors are working in connivance with the police in covering up incidents of torture by producing insufficient and flawed medical reports are even more alarming. This has led to a few cases of By Priyantha Gamage, J.P.U.M., LL.M (King’s college, London), BB.A (Special), M.A.A.T. Attorney-at-Law, Justice of the Peace & Unofficial Magistrate