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Name: MG Gender: Female Age: 28 Date Detained: November 2008 Date Released: December 2008 Circumstances of detention: In November 2008, MG was travelling by bus from Trincomalee to Vavuniya to meet her aunt who was in hospital. MG told Human Rights Watch that her bus was stopped at 11 check points during which all passengers were required to get off the bus and have their ID cards checked by a team of Sri Lankan army and police officials. At the 12 th checkpoint, which was at Irambakulam, MG said she was questioned by a team of five or six officials and taken into custody. Account: I explained to the officials I was going to Vavuniya to look after my hospitalized aunt, [but] they did not believe me. They asked me to step aside. When they finished checking other passengers, they handcuffed me and took me to Vavuniya police station in a jeep. At the police station, they accused me of being an LTTE member and of penetrating into [an] army controlled area for planting bombs. The officials slapped me while questioning me. They took my photo, fingerprints, and all my family details. I was then taken to the Veppankulam CID camp and locked up in a small room. A team of officials, some in Sri Lankan army uniform and some in civilian clothes started interrogating me and pressuring me to admit I was a member of the LTTE. I kept denying these charges and that is when they started torturing me. They tied my legs with nylon ropes, hung me upside down and submerged my head in water. They burned me on my inner thighs with cigarette butts and beat the soles of my feet with batons. They punched me on my back and hit me on the head with heavy plastic pipes. I was beaten on the back of my legs with thick nylon ropes and they tried to suffocate me by covering my face with a sack that was used to carry chili powder. I fainted frequently during the torture. When I came to, I realized I had been raped by the four men who were questioning me. I was bleeding heavily from the vagina and my lower abdomen was very sore. This happened continually for three or four days by the same people in the same place. 165 165 Human Rights Watch interview with MG, November 18, 2011. 117 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | FEBRUARY 2013
MG’s medico-legal report, on file with Human Rights Watch, notes her “psychological symptoms are typical of torture and rape.” It also notes that “all her scars together strongly support her account of being tortured as she describes.” MG told Human Rights Watch she admitted to all charges against her and signed documents in Sinhala that she was unable to read. On signing the documents, MG remained in custody for a month during which she was taken to other detention camps and compelled to identify other LTTE supporters. They beat her when she refused or failed to identify people. MG’s family managed to secure her release from detention by bribing security officials in December 2008. MG said she didn’t tell anyone about the rape even after she left the country. She said: “I felt so embarrassed and scared that society may outcast me if I was a rape victim. However, I could talk to the female GP about this and am now receiving psychiatric treatment.” 166 166 Ibid. “WE WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON” 118
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H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H “
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Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watc
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Map of Sri Lanka
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Available information indicates tha
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sexual violence such as bites on th
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Not all detainees subjected to sexu
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surveillance of civil society group
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Methodology From November 2011 to O
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I. Background The 26-year-long arme
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The Sri Lankan government declared
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Senior government officials initial
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From 1990 to 2002, Sri Lankan civil
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of women and girls. In its response
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ongoing military control over admin
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damages. 43 The UN has reaffirmed t
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Aside from their direct criminal re
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Rights Watch and other organization
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Criminal Investigation Department (
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For instance, GD, a 31-year-old wom
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Human Rights Watch that he and othe
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international airport, and taken to
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Violations: Denial of Basic Due Pro
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on this aspect of torture. “Victi
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IV. Domestic Response Post-War Barr
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LTTE conspiracy to defame and demon
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It is possible to identify specific
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• Establish, maintain, and public
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Appendix: Cases of Rape and Other S
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Name: KM Gender: Male Age: 22 Date
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Name: DK Gender: Male Age: 21 Date
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Name: VV Gender: Male Age: 29 Date
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Name: BL Gender: Male Age: 28 Date
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Name: KP Gender: Male Age: 31 Date
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They left me naked with my hands ti
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Name: MB Gender: Male Age: 27 Date
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Page 81 and 82: Name: FJ Gender: Male Age: 20 Date
Page 83 and 84: Name: DB Gender: Male Age: 19 Date
Page 85 and 86: Name: PP Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
Page 87 and 88: Name: LP Gender: Male Age: 20 Date
Page 89 and 90: Name: RC Gender: Female Age: 30 Dat
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Page 93 and 94: Name: YN Gender: Male Age: 46 Date
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Page 99 and 100: Name: CN Gender: Female Age: 32 Dat
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Page 103 and 104: Name: VM Gender: Female Age: 26 Dat
Page 105 and 106: Name: MH Gender: Female Age: 35 Dat
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Page 111 and 112: Name: EN Gender: Female Age: 28 Dat
Page 113 and 114: Name: ST Gender: Female Age: 50 Dat
Page 115 and 116: Name: OP Gender: Male Age: 20 Date
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Page 119 and 120: Name: RS Gender: Male Age: 27 Date
Page 121 and 122: Name: KN Gender: Female Age: 30 Dat
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Page 127 and 128: I could not endure the torture anym
Page 129 and 130: Name: TH Gender: Female Age: 28 Dat
Page 131 and 132: Name: DJ Gender: Female Age: 23 Dat
Page 133 and 134: Name: PR Gender: Male Age: 26 Date
Page 135 and 136: Name: MJ Gender: Female Age: 32 Dat
Page 137 and 138: They kicked me on my genitals and r
Page 139 and 140: Name: DH Gender: Female Age: 32 Dat
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Page 143 and 144: Name: DV Gender: Female Age: 37 Dat
Page 145 and 146: Name: PT Gender: Male Age: 23 Date
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