Filmmaker says photos prove that Sri Lanka rebel leader's son was killed by government

Balachandran Prabhakaran, shown eating chocolate while sitting on a bench. (JDS/No Fire Zone)

A British filmmaker says photographs have emerged that show the son of a Tamil rebel leader prove the boy was executed in 2009 by Sri Lankan soldiers.

Balachandran Prabhakaran, the 12-year-old son of Velupillai Prabhakaranm -- the former leader of the Tamil Tigers – was captured by Sri Lanka’s army on the final day of the 26-year war between the two sides, the BBC reports.

Sri Lanka’s government has said the boy was killed in crossfire during a battle, but two photos show Balachandran in custody before his death.

In the first photo, Balachandran is seen eating chocolate. In the second, he is shown dead after being shot five times in the chest. The photos were taken less than two hours apart on May 19, 2009, according to data analysis done by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka, the BBC reports.

"His death was deliberate and calculated,” filmmaker Callum Macrae said. “This is a proof, beyond reasonable doubt, of the execution of a child -- not a battlefield death."

Sri Lanka Army spokesman Ruwan Wanigasuriya denied the claims, and said the photos showed "no substantive evidence."

The photos are being released in Macrae’s latest documentary, "No Fire Zone," which will be screened at the Geneva Human Rights Film Festival during a UN meeting in March, the BBC reports.

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