Probe on massacres: Blunders by Police
Police made a shocking blunder when they wrongly fingered a young US woman as a suspect wanted in connection with the Easter Sunday terrorist attacks. It further dented the credibility of the authorities who are already accused of failing to heed intelligence warnings in the days leading up to the attack.
On Thursday, Police released names and images of six suspects; three men and three women, wanted in connection with the attacks. They appealed for public assistance to find them. One of the names mentioned along with the photographs was Abdul Cader Fathima Khadiya.
However, it was not long before local Twitter users pointed out that the photograph was that of Amara Majeed, a Muslim activist, university student and author in the United States. She was born to Sri Lankan parents. Police Media Unit subsequently issued a correction, apologising for the error and stating that the
CID was seeking a female suspect named Abdul Cader Fathima Khadiya, but the woman in the photograph was not the individual they were seeking to arrest.
The damage, however, had been done. Ms Majeed’s Facebook page was flooded with hateful and racist comments, accusing her of being a terrorist.
Ms. Majeed herself issued a statement on Twitter and Facebook: “Hello everyone! I have this morning been FALSELY identified by the Sri Lankan government as one of the ISIS terrorists that have committed the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka. What a thing to wake up to! This is obviously completely false and frankly, considering that our communities are already greatly afflicted with issues of surveillance, I don't need more false accusations and scrutiny. Please stop implicating and associating me with these horrific attacks. And next time, be more diligent about releasing such information that has the potential to deeply violate someone's family and community.”
The glaring error came on the same day authorities acknowledged they had overestimated the number of deaths from the attacks by about 100.
It also came on the very day that the Government Information Department issued a statement telling the people to rely only on “verified official information" provided by the Police spokesman, Tri Forces spokespersons and the Information Department.”