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Name: QF Gender: Male Age: 25 Date Detained: February 2008 Date Released: March 2008 Circumstances of detention: In February 2008, a group of five military personnel came to QF’s home in Colombo. QF told Human Rights Watch that two of them forcibly entered his house and started questioning his father. QF said that he came out of his room and introduced himself. He was immediately detained. Account: The officials grabbed and handcuffed me. They told my father they were taking me for questioning and took me to Wellawatte police station. In the police station, they started questioning and beating me. They pushed me into a cell. I was not given any food or drink that night. The next day, I was blindfolded, my hands were tied, and I was taken to another place in a van. I was pushed into a room and my blindfold was taken off. The room was small, dark, and dirty. I was stripped and left in my underwear. I was taken to another room where the officials in civilian clothes started questioning me. They accused me of helping the LTTE. They showed photographs and asked me to identify people. They made me bend over the table and then hit me with a hot, metal rod. They burned me with cigarettes and beat me with a sand-filled plastic pipe. They punched me and kicked me with their boots. They forced a petrol-infused plastic bag on my head and tried to asphyxiate me till I fainted. They covered my penis with something like Vicks. 175 They would grope my genitals during questioning. One official tried to make me have oral sex with him. Other men sexually abused me around three times. They wore civilian clothes and did not speak Tamil. 176 QF’s medico legal report, on file with Human Rights Watch, confirms his account of ill treatment and Sri Lanka. QF told Human Rights Watch he was fingerprinted and photographed and made to sign a confession statement in Sinhala. He was blindfolded and taken to different places in a van where he was asked to identify people involved with the LTTE. He was released in March 2008 after his family bribed the authorities. 175 A mentholated, topical cream used on nose and chest for providing relief in a common cold. 176 Human Rights Watch interview with KF, January 10, 2011. Medical records were not available in this case. 131 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | FEBRUARY 2013
Name: DH Gender: Female Age: 32 Date Detained: February 2008 Date Released: Cannot recall Circumstances of detention: DH moved to Colombo from the Vanni on February 16, 2008, and soon after that went to register herself and her son at a police station. She was immediately detained. Account: I was taken into custody as soon as I arrived at the police station but I was not formally arrested. I was detained in a cell. The police got some men from the Karuna group to identify me. I was moved to another detention site after this. As soon as I was brought to the second detention site, two policemen starting behaving indecently with me. They groped me, grabbed my genitals and breasts, and tore off my clothes. They raped me by turn. They kept shouting at me in Sinhala but I could not understand what they were saying. I was beaten up and tortured during the detention. The interrogators punched me and kicked with metal-tipped boots, they hit me on my back and legs with rifle butts. They kicked the soles of my feet with boots and also beat my soles with wooden batons. The interrogators submerged my head in water and tried to drown me. I was burned with cigarettes and hot iron rods during my detention. I was constantly accused of being an LTTE member. Frequently, my interrogators removed my clothes, stripped me naked, and taunted me during the interrogation. Even though I was not raped again, they threatened that they would kill me. 177 DH’s medico legal report, on file with Human Rights Watch, confirms her account of ill treatment and torture, including rape, in Sri Lanka. DH told Human Rights Watch she admitted to the allegations and signed a confession document as she believed it would stop the torture. She managed to secure her release from detention after her brother arranged for police officials to be bribed. 177 Human Rights Watch interview with DH, February 4, 2012. “WE WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON” 132
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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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Name: JV Gender: Male Age: 28 Date
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Name: IR Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
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Name: KI Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
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Name: YS Gender: Female Age: 27 Dat
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Name: FJ Gender: Male Age: 20 Date
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Name: DB Gender: Male Age: 19 Date
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Name: PP Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
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Page 93 and 94: Name: YN Gender: Male Age: 46 Date
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Page 121 and 122: Name: KN Gender: Female Age: 30 Dat
Page 123 and 124: Name: JM Gender: Female Age: 31 Dat
Page 125 and 126: MG’s medico-legal report, on file
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: They kicked me on my genitals and r
Page 141 and 142: Name: LV Gender: Female Age: 38 Dat
Page 143 and 144: Name: DV Gender: Female Age: 37 Dat
Page 145 and 146: Name: PT Gender: Male Age: 23 Date
Page 147: “We Will Teach You a Lesson” Se
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