A/HRC/34/20 international confidence in the Government’s determination and capacity to pursue accountability. The emblematic cases described below demonstrate the State’s resolve and ability, or lack thereof, to address impunity. 32. The death of 27 inmates during a security operation to control a riot at Welikada prison, in November 2012 (see A/HRC/25/23, para. 24), has not been fully addressed. In its report to the Committee against Torture, the Government explained that an ad hoc committee appointed to look into the incident concluded that the military had been compelled to take action to protect prison officials and other inmates (CAT/C/LKA/5, para. 64). According to the Ministry of Justice, the report of the committee had been shared with the Inspector General of Police, who has the prerogative to initiate criminal investigations. It appears that, to date, he has not taken any action in this regard. 33. Concerning the killing of protestors by army personnel at Weliwerya in August 2013, the Presidential Secretariat granted compensation, in April 2016, to 33 individuals who had been injured in the incident. No prosecution or disciplinary action has, however, yet been taken against the perpetrators. 34. More than 10 years after the killing of five students in Trincomalee, in January 2006, and of 17 humanitarian workers of the non-governmental organization ACF, in Muttur, in August 2006, no noticeable progress has been made in ensuring accountability, other than attempts to overcome difficulties encountered in summoning or interviewing potential witnesses now living abroad. 35. On 24 December 2016, the five defendants on trial for the murder of Member of Parliament Nadarajah Raviraj, in November 2006, were acquitted after a decision by a special all-Sinhala-speaking jury. The accused were navy intelligence officers and cadres of the Karuna faction.11 In October 2016, the Colombo High Court allowed the case to be heard by jury, although some of the charges had been filed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which does not allow for jury trials. 36. With regard to the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda in January 2010, all 13 suspects, including military intelligence personnel and two former cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) arrested in August 2015, were granted bail following a series of decisions in May, October and November 2016. 37. In November 2016, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (also known as Colonel Karuna Amman), a former leader of the paramilitary Karuna Group who served as a Minister with the previous Government, was briefly arrested for misuse of an official vehicle. He is, however, yet to face charges for human rights abuses, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances and the recruitment and use of children), allegedly committed by the Karuna Group.12 Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan (also known as Pillayan), another leader of the Karuna Group who served as Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, remains on remand in connection to the murder of Member of Parliament Joseph Pararajasingham, but is yet to face charges for the actions of the Karuna Group related to child recruitment.13 38. With regard to the Killiveddy (or Kumarappuram) massacre of 23 Tamil civilians by army soldiers in 1996, in July 2016, an all-Sinhalese jury unanimously acquitted six army personnel following an inquiry that was moved from the original Muttur Magistrates Court 11 12 13 The Karuna Group was formed by Karuna Amman, a former leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), after he defected from the organization in 2004. Initially a paramilitary group that supported the Sri Lankan Army against the LTTE, it was later registered as a political party, Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (or TMVP) in 2007. See A/HRC/30/CRP.2, chaps. XI and XII. See ibid., paras. 663 and 725. 9