Adams JAMAICANS FOR Justice (JFJ), the civil rights group, and Amnesty International, the international human rights group, have raised concerns about last Wednesday's killing of seven suspects by the police in Braeton, south St. Catherine.
In a statement on Monday, Amnesty International said the circumstances surrounding the shootings suggest "the deaths amounted to extrajudicial executions".
The organisation said the Jamaican Government should investigate the killings in accordance with international standards and bring to justice anyone found guilty of human rights violations. Also, it called for an urgent investigation of the activities of the Crime Management Unit (CMU) headed by Senior Supt. Reneto Adams.
Jamaicans for Justice called for the removal from duty of SSP Adams and other police personnel involved in the shootings until investigations were complete.
In a news release, JFJ called also for the unit to be recalled during the investigations.
JFJ said an increasing number of accounts of the incident, in which seven young men were killed by the police, "suggests that the men were killed in cold-blood, rather than in a shoot-out as alleged by the police." The group said it viewed the discrepancies with concern.
"We are deeply concerned the scene of the shooting was not preserved for the thorough collection of forensic data. We are keenly aware that without this careful initial collection of forensic data, it is more difficult to establish exactly what happened at the scene of the shooting," the release stated.
JFJ said it was unacceptable that numerous members of the public have had access to the house since shortly after the incident and had been able to disturb the scene and remove evidence vital to the investigation.
"We are calling on all Jamaicans to understand the necessity for accused criminals to be brought to the courts for judgement and for the police not only to obey the law, but to be seen to be manifestly upholding and obeying the law," the group said.
