| International Torture Victims Day 26 June 2000 “For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”
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Monday. June 26th is International Torture Victims Day. “Most torture victims were Tamils suspected of being LTTE insurgents or collaborators. Methods of torture included electric shock, beatings (especially on the soles of the feet), suspension by the wrists or feet in contorted positions, burnings, and near drownings. In other cases, victims are forced to remain in unnatural positions for extended periods, or have bags laced with insecticide, chili powder, or gasoline placed over their heads. Detainees have reported broken bones and other serious injuries as a result of their mistreatment.” US State Department Report on “In 1994 the Government acceded to the U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Parliament also enacted legislation making torture a punishable offense. However, the Government has not yet developed effective regulations under the new legislation to prosecute and punish military and police personnel responsible for torture, though it has ceased paying finesincurred by security force personnel guilty of the offense.” US Department of State “Torture by the security forces is reported almost daily in the context of their ongoing armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are fighting for an independent state, Eelam, in the north and east… In spite of existing legal safeguards, torture continues to be committed with relative impunity. Only a handful of cases against police officers are reportedly pending in the courts, and so far no one has been convicted for torture.” Amnesty International - News Release “The increase in detentions has heightened concerns about the treatment of detainees, most of whom, according to several contacts, are routinely assaulted almost immediately upon arrest. Others explain that torture remains a regular occurrence, especially at the Military Intelligence detention camp, and that women are quite regularly sexually assaulted… … In fact, officers at the Military Intelligence detention center, where most cases of assault, torture, and rape of detainees reportedly take place, have denied HRTF field-officers access to the center for "security reasons," functionally ignoring government directives, which prohibit such actions. Also, contacts suggest that detainees who have been abused are routinely hidden from the HRTF until their conditions improve, a practice that has become fairly common throughout the North-East Province.” Peace Brigades International “Thousands of Tamil people were arrested, including scores of possible prisoners of conscience. Torture and ill treatment in army and police custody were widespread. Approximately 80 Tamil civilians were reported to have “disappeared”. Amnesty International “During the Special Rapporteur's visit to Sri Lanka, most of the human rights advocates with whom he met as well as relatives of victims of human rights violations stated that in Sri Lanka, soldiers and policemen who commit fundamental human rights violations such as killings, torture and acts of disappearances are rarely punished. Neither are they fully held accountable for their acts.” Report of the [UN] Special Rapporteur, “To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the
above-mentioned persons: Convention (I) for The Amelioration of “… the following acts against the persons referred to in paragraph I are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever: Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of “… Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, where any person is charged with any offence under this Act, any statement made by such person at any time, whether - (a) it amounts to a confession or not… [is admissible] Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act “There are no jury trials in cases brought under the seldom-invoked PTA. Confessions, which are otherwise inadmissible, are allowed in PTA cases. Most convictions under the PTA rely heavily on them. ” US Department of State “Defendants bear the burden of proof to demonstrate that their confessions were obtained by coercion.” US Department of State “There are repeated allegations of confessions extracted under torture. When the suspect is Tamil, the statement of the confession is written in Singhalese, a language that the victim often does not understand. In most of these cases, the Special Rapporteur was told that the only interest of the police is to get the statement of the confession signed, so the accused can be sent directly to the High Court.” Report of the [UN] Special Rapporteur, “The confession on which the case against her was based, had been obtained under torture. After her arrest in September 1998, she was repeatedly tortured, which included beating on the head with a cricket bat… Evidence was also produced that a confession was extracted under torture from another Batticaloa resident T Prabhakaran, 20. According to the JMO, chillie powder applied to his eyes has impaired his sight. His head was covered with a plastic bag dipped in petrol and his toe nails were pulled out...” British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor “… Jaffna resident Damila Jayakanthan who arrived in Colombo to go to Italy to join her husband remains in custody. She was arrested in April last year and police have filed a case based on a confession obtained in detention.” British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor “Jaffna student R Pragalathan says in a fundamental rights application that after his arrest at Bambalapitiya suburb on 7 January pins were inserted under his nails and when he refused to sign a confession was brutally assaulted. Another Jaffna student G Balakumar, currently in Colombo Magazine prison, also suffered torture at the Joseph camp in Vavuniya after his arrest in June 1996.” British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor “Despite legal prohibitions, the security forces and police continue to torture and mistreat persons in police custody and prisons... Impunity for those responsible for human rights abuses also remained a serious problem... In most cases, there was no investigation or prosecution at all, giving the appearance of impunity for those responsible for human rights violations... no one has ever been convicted under the CATA for torture.” U.S. Department of State |
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