COLOMBO, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The brother of the British tourist murdered in Sri Lanka said Friday that he is shocked by the government's failure to bring the killers to justice even after the lapse of 15 months and made an emotional appeal for justice warning that inaction could impact the island's lucrative tourist industry.
Kuram Shaikh was murdered and his girlfriend viciously assaulted while they were spending holiday at the southern seaside town of Tangalle in December 2011 by a group of people headed by a provincial politician.
Even though initial arrests were made the politician of the ruling party together with eight others was released on bail and the trial has not yet been filed in court.
Kuram was an employee of the International Red Cross.
Distressed by the inaction Kuram's brother Nasir is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka accompanied by British MP Simon Danczuk to push the Sri Lankan government into fast tracking the case.
Speaking to the media Nasir made an emotional appeal calling for the government to back up their positive comments to him with tangible action and protect the values of a Commonwealth nation.
"It was unfortunate that the first time I came to Sri Lanka was to take my brother back home and I never imagined I would have to do this and deal with such a traumatic experience. Fifteen months on we are shocked at how little progress has been made on the case and the lack of urgency for justice that has been showed so far," he said.
Stressing that the government needs to stop "sending mixed messages," Nasir emphasized that his quest for justice would continue to bring closure to his family.
"Those responsible for what happened to my brother are walking free to this day and that cannot be right in any walk of life. It is not acceptable for a Commonwealth country to turn a blind eye on such a tragedy and this seems a senseless injustice. I am here today to ask the Sri Lankan government to do the right thing -- to send out the right message -- to show they have a genuine commitment to uphold rule of law."
MP Danczuk echoed Nasir's statement pointing out that the Sri Lankan government's continued avoidance of the matter would "haunt it" and likely impact UK tourist numbers.
Danczuk, who called for British Prime Minister David Cameron to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted by Sri Lanka in November if progress on the murder case was not shown, insisted that he would continue to lobby for non- representation and on his return would even write to the Queen asking her not to attend CHOGM.
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