The Scotland Police have defended a contract it has with the Sri Lankan Police despite concerns raised by human rights groups.
A reply to a freedom of information request by Police Scotland noted that its international contracts in 2017 included a training programme in Sri Lanka, a state accused of gross human rights abuses including Police torture.
Scots officers were sent to Jamaica and Sri Lanka to train their respective police forces, two projects criticised by human groups.
In reply, however, Superintendent Shaun McKillop of Police Scotland, said he fully acknowledged such concerns but added that not to engage with these nations would mean having no influence over improving the situation in the future.
“Sri Lanka remains one of the key places for the UK government, so we continue to work for them through the conflict, stability and security fund,” McKillop said. “We’ve done some work for the UK government in Pakistan, looking at crime investigation in the Punjab. We’ve also worked for the Scottish Government in Malawi and Zambia.”
When asked why state torture remains a problem in Sri Lanka nearly a decade after Police Scotland began its work there, McKillop said it was important to keep engaging with the country.
He said: “The British High Commission review our training on a regular basis, as well as our own monitoring. We are continuing to work with them and to press them.
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