Download the full report - Human Rights Watch

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Name: TR Gender: Male Age: 16 Date Detained: December 2009 Date Released: January 2010 Circumstances of detention: In December 2009, TR was at his home in Welawatte, Colombo, when a white van stopped outside his house. He told Human Rights Watch that five or six men in civilian clothes jumped out and grabbed him. He said he was handcuffed, blindfolded, and pushed face down in the back of the van. He says he later found himself in the custody of government forces. Account: We drove in the van for about 30 minutes. I was taken to a room where they removed my blindfold. I was stripped, fingerprinted, and photographed. They asked me to confess my involvement with the LTTE. I refused. The torture started soon after that. I was beaten with heated iron rods and sand-filled plastic pipes; I was hung upside down. The officials kicked me with their boots and burned me with cigarettes. They forced a petrol-infused plastic bag on my head and tried to asphyxiate me. They took my underpants off and groped my genitals. The guards threw one food packet every day into my room. The food was generally not fit for consumption. I was raped about five or six times by members of the security forces. They came to my room at night after the interrogation was over. Some of them wore civilian clothes, others were in military uniform. They spoke in Sinhala but could say some words in Tamil. I could smell alcohol on them. They used bad language and called me a Tamil dog. 137 TR’s medico legal report, on file with Human Rights Watch, notes that “he has experienced several traumatic events on account of his torture, sexual assault, sexual violence, and rapes.” TR was released from detention following payment of bribe towards the end of December. He managed to flee from Sri Lanka, using the services of an agent in January 2010. 137 Human Rights Watch interview with TR, November 12, 2011. 87 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | FEBRUARY 2013
Name: DS Gender: Male Age: 17 Date Detained: November 2009 Date Released: December 2009 Circumstances of detention: DS’s father owned a photocopy shop in Jaffna and helped the LTTE by printing propaganda leaflets and distributing them. In 2005 when he was 13 years old, DS was forcibly taken away by the LTTE and provided compulsory military training for 10 days. On completing his training, he returned to Jaffna and worked for the LTTE by distributing pamphlets in his school and participating in LTTE cultural festivals like Pongu Thamil. In 2008, DS’s father was arrested and detained by the authorities for providing shelter to an LTTE member. He was released on payment of bribe and on the condition that he stop providing services to the LTTE. DS told Human Rights Watch he was returning from his school in November 2009 when he was arrested by a joint team of police and army officials. He was blindfolded and taken to an unknown detention site. Account: They asked me to tell them all about my activities with the LTTE. They said that if I told them everything about my work, they would let me go. I refused to admit to anything. Then they started beating me. I was stomped with boots and punched. They then forced me to undress completely. I was hung upside down and burned with cigarettes. I was beaten with sand-filled pipes and wires. The officials beat the soles of my feet with rubber and forced a petrol-infused plastic bag on my head and tried to asphyxiate me. One officer performed sexual acts in front of me. He then raped me. I lost consciousness. I was bleeding heavily from my anus. There was no toilet and I had to use a plastic bag. The officials who were questioning me did not let me sleep. They did not give me any food for the first two or three days. They fingerprinted and photographed me. I finally signed a confession document in Sinhala and admitted to everything they said. 138 DS’s medico legal report, on file with Human Rights Watch, notes that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, and secondary depression, coupled with an ongoing risk of suicide on account of his experiences of torture. DS said he was released from detention in December 2009 after his father secured his release by bribing the officials through the services of a Tamil parliamentarian. 138 Human Rights Watch interview with DS, November 28, 2011. “WE WILL TEACH YOU A LESSON” 88
Page 1 and 2:
H U M A N R I G H T S W A T C H “
Page 3 and 4:
Copyright © 2013 Human Rights Watc
Page 6:
Map of Sri Lanka
Page 9 and 10:
Available information indicates tha
Page 11 and 12:
sexual violence such as bites on th
Page 13 and 14:
Not all detainees subjected to sexu
Page 15 and 16:
surveillance of civil society group
Page 17 and 18:
Methodology From November 2011 to O
Page 19 and 20:
I. Background The 26-year-long arme
Page 21 and 22:
The Sri Lankan government declared
Page 23 and 24:
Senior government officials initial
Page 25 and 26:
From 1990 to 2002, Sri Lankan civil
Page 27 and 28:
of women and girls. In its response
Page 29 and 30:
ongoing military control over admin
Page 31 and 32:
damages. 43 The UN has reaffirmed t
Page 33 and 34:
Aside from their direct criminal re
Page 35 and 36:
Rights Watch and other organization
Page 37 and 38:
Criminal Investigation Department (
Page 39 and 40:
For instance, GD, a 31-year-old wom
Page 41 and 42:
Human Rights Watch that he and othe
Page 43 and 44: international airport, and taken to
Page 45 and 46: Violations: Denial of Basic Due Pro
Page 47 and 48: on this aspect of torture. “Victi
Page 49 and 50: IV. Domestic Response Post-War Barr
Page 51 and 52: LTTE conspiracy to defame and demon
Page 53 and 54: It is possible to identify specific
Page 55 and 56: • Establish, maintain, and public
Page 57 and 58: Appendix: Cases of Rape and Other S
Page 59 and 60: Name: KM Gender: Male Age: 22 Date
Page 61 and 62: Name: DK Gender: Male Age: 21 Date
Page 63 and 64: Name: VV Gender: Male Age: 29 Date
Page 65 and 66: Name: BL Gender: Male Age: 28 Date
Page 67 and 68: Name: KP Gender: Male Age: 31 Date
Page 69 and 70: They left me naked with my hands ti
Page 71 and 72: Name: MB Gender: Male Age: 27 Date
Page 73 and 74: Name: JV Gender: Male Age: 28 Date
Page 75 and 76: Name: IR Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
Page 77 and 78: Name: KI Gender: Female Age: 29 Dat
Page 79 and 80: Name: YS Gender: Female Age: 27 Dat
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
Page 91 and 92: Name: MT Gender: Female Age: 30 Dat
Page 93: Name: YN Gender: Male Age: 46 Date
Page 97 and 98: Name: HB Gender: Male Age: 22 Date
Page 99 and 100: Name: CN Gender: Female Age: 32 Dat
Page 101 and 102: Name: GW Gender: Female Age: 40 Dat
Page 103 and 104: Name: VM Gender: Female Age: 26 Dat
Page 105 and 106: Name: MH Gender: Female Age: 35 Dat
Page 107 and 108: Name: VB Gender: Female Age: 28 Dat
Page 109 and 110: Name: PV Gender: Female Age: 26 Dat
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
Page 117 and 118: Name: YT Gender: Female Age: 22 Dat
Page 119 and 120: Name: RS Gender: Male Age: 27 Date
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 and 138: They kicked me on my genitals and r
Page 139 and 140: Name: DH Gender: Female Age: 32 Dat
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
show all

Download the full report - Human Rights Watch

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?