Sri Lanka Completes Post-Mortem on Iranian Sailors After Frigate Sinking

Sri Lanka has completed post-mortem examinations on Iranian sailors recovered after the sinking of the IRIS Dena frigate, allegedly due to a US submarine attack, sparking protests and international law concerns.

Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had recovered 84 bodies of Iranian sailors after the US submarine attack sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off Galle on the island's southern coast.

The ship had been returning to Iran from Visakhapatnam, India, where it had participated in a naval fleet review exercise.

Having concluded the magisterial inquiry following the presentation by the Galle harbour police, the Judicial Medical Officer of the Karapitiya hospital conducted the post-mortem on 84 bodies.

Eighty of the 84 bodies have been identified by the survivors.

The medical superintendent of the Galle hospital said post-mortem certificates would be issued in due course.

The remains are still at the hospital morgue.

Eight of the 32 rescued sailors are still receiving treatment at the emergency care unit. The 24 others are now being treated at the general care hospital, officials said.

Protests and International Law Concerns

An opposition-led protest was held here under the theme 'No blood for oil' and was attended by the Iranian Ambassador in Colombo, Alireza Delkhosh. It called for an end to the military aggression against Iran.

Referring to the Sri Lankan president's announcement on Sri Lanka's neutrality on the issue, the Ambassador said that the US attacks against his country were a breach of international law.

"Now I think it is time to say and send this message to all countries that we are against the breach of international law. Breaching of international law is not something that we cannot say because we are neutral...," Delkhosh said.

The United States and Israel have been carrying out joint attacks on Iran since February 28, with the conflict spreading across much of the Gulf region following Tehran's retaliation.