A/HRC/25/23 against individuals or groups who met or attempted to meet with her, even months after her visit. OHCHR received reports of at least 10 serious cases involving targeting individuals and groups between the end of October and November 2013 in the run-up to and during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting hosted by Sri Lanka. These included the case of a prominent human rights defender who, on 4 November, was the target of threats and derogatory remarks during a radio broadcast hosted by the State-owned Sri Lankan Broadcasting Corporation. In another instance, on 13 November, the police blocked buses carrying members of families of the disappeared as they were travelling to Colombo to participate in a human rights event and in a demonstration calling for accountability for enforced disappearances. 22. Attacks against journalist and media outlets continued in 2013. Several incidents targeted the Tamil newspaper Uthayan: on 10 January, two distributers were attacked and copies of newspapers burned; on 13 April, armed men attacked employees and set fire to printing machines in the Jaffna office; and, on 11 July, armed men attacked the newsroom. On 24 August, an associate editor of the Sunday Leader was attacked by masked men at her home, and her computer was stolen in a subsequent break-in, on 8 September. C. Extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings 23. The High Commissioner and several special procedures mandate holders continued to follow developments in recent cases in which the apparent excessive use of force led to the death of unarmed protesters or of prison inmates. On 1 August 2013, approximately 6,000 residents of Weliweriya, a small suburb of Colombo, protested against the State’s failure to address community concerns about the contamination of their drinking water supply by a local factory. Army personnel were deployed in support of the police to control the protest, which had turned violent and reportedly used excessive force, leaving three people dead and many others with critical injuries.13 On 2 August 2013, the Army Commander appointed a military court of inquiry into the incident. The court submitted its report on 21 August, but it has not been made public. On 30 August 2013, the Army announced that four senior officers had been relieved of their duties with immediate effect, although no court martial has been initiated.14 The factory has since been relocated and compensation offered to the families of those killed. 24. On 12 November 2012, the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms appointed a committee to inquire into events in Welikada prison on 9 November 2012, when Special Task Force personnel conducted a search operation and army personnel subsequently intervened to control a riot; at least 27 inmates were killed and 43 injured.15 The committee handed over its report to the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Prison Reforms on 15 January 2014, but it has not been published. According to media reports, it concludes that the prisoners shot each other. The Government informed the High Commissioner that a similar inquiry had been carried out into custodial deaths when security forces had stormed 13 14 15 See Human Rights Watch, “Sri Lanka: Investigate ‘Clean Water’ Protest Deaths”, 9 August 2013, available from www.hrw.org/news/2013/08/09/sri-lanka-investigate-clean-water-protest-deaths; and Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, press communiqué, 30 August 2013, available from www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Press_Communique_Weliweriya_Incident_20130830_03. See Ministry of Defence press communiqué (see footnote 13). Centre for Policy Alternatives, “A List of Commissions of Inquiry and Committees Appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka (2006-2012)”, 12 March 2012, available from www.cpalanka.org/a-list-ofcommissions-of-inquiry-and-committees-appointed-by-the-government-of-sri-lanka-2006-2012/. 7