COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office

SRI LANKA 7 MARCH 2012
periods without trial…‖ adding that ―…many of the powers in the emergency regulations
can also be found in the existing Prevention of Terrorism Act:
―Just like the emergency regulations, the PTA allows for arrests for unspecified ‗unlawful
activities‘ without warrant and permits detention for up to 18 months without producing
the suspect before a court. The government need not charge the person with an
offense. The act also provides immunity from prosecution for government officials who
may commit wrongful acts, such as torture, under the legislation. Legal proceedings are
prohibited if an official acted ‗in good faith,‘ or in ‗pursuance of any order made or
direction given under this Act.‘
―Sri Lanka‘s attorney general, Mohan Peiris, whose term ended on August 31, said that
the lapsing of the emergency regulations will not mean a change in detention practices:
‗No suspects will be released and there is no change even though the emergency has
been allowed to lapse,‖ he told reporters.‘
10.14 The UNCAT‘s Concluding Observations 203 of 25 November 2011 observed:
―10. While noting the State party‘s decision to lift the long-standing state of emergency
on 31 August 2011, the Committee expresses concern that 24 hours before it ended
new regulations were decreed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979
(PTA).The Committee is concerned about the sweeping nature of these PTA
regulations, which unduly restrict legal safeguards for persons suspected or charged
with a terrorist or related crime, as pointed out by the Human Rights Committee and the
Special Rapporteur on Torture.
―11. While noting the clarification given by the State party in respect of the
inadmissibility of evidence obtained through torture under the Evidence Ordinance Act
1985, the Committee remains concerned by the fact that the PTA allows all confessions
obtained by police at or above the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to
be admissible (sect. 16) placing the burden of proof on the accused that a confession
was obtained under duress (sect. 17(2)). The Committee is also concerned at reports
that in most cases filed under the PTA the sole evidence relied upon is confessions
obtained by an ASP or an officer above that rank The Committee further notes with
concern reports documenting individual cases of torture and ill-treatment where the
victims were allegedly randomly selected by police to be arrested and detained for what
appears to be an unsubstantiated charge and subsequently subjected to torture or illtreatment
to obtain a confession for those charges…‖
10.15 The Amnesty International, Sri Lanka: Briefing to the UN Committee against Torture
2011, contains additional information on Emergency and Anti-terrorism legislation.
See also Torture
202 Human Rights Watch (HRW), Sri Lanka: ‘Bait and Switch’ on Emergency Law, 7 September 2011
http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/09/07/sri-lanka-bait-and-switch-emergency-law Date accessed 19 January
2012
203 UNCAT, Forty-seventh session, 31 October–25 November 201, Consideration of reports submitted by
States parties under article 19 of the Convention, Advance Unedited Version, Concluding observations of
the Committee against Torture, 25 November 2011
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/co/CAT.C.LKA.CO.3-4_en.doc
Date accessed 13 January 2012
92 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February 2012.
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section
to 2 March 2012.