Torture widely practiced in Sri Lanka, says UN human rights expert
An independent United Nations human rights expert said today that although Sri Lanka has measures in place to prevent
torture, the brutal practice is widespread and "prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations."
"The high number of indictments for torture filed by the Attorney General's Office, the number of successful fundamental
rights cases decided by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, as well as the high number of complaints that the National Human
Rights Commission continues to receive on an almost daily basis indicates that torture is widely practiced in Sri
Lanka," Manfred Nowak told the General Assembly committee dealing with social, humanitarian and cultural issues, known
as the Third Committee.
"This practice is prone to become routine in the context of counter-terrorism operations," Mr. Nowak, the UN Special
Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, added.
Mr. Nowak said that during the course of his visit to the country from 1 to 8 October, he received "numerous consistent
and credible allegations" from detainees who reported that they were ill-treated by the police to extract confessions,
or to obtain information in relation to other criminal offences. Similar allegations were received with respect to the
army.
In an effort to criminalize torture and bring perpetrators to justice, the Government enacted the 1994 Torture Act.
While the significant number of indictments filed under the Act was encouraging, Mr. Nowak decried the fact that only
three people have so far been convicted.
"Given the high standards of proof applied by the Supreme Court in torture related cases, it is regrettable that the
facts established do not trigger more convictions by criminal courts," he stated.
While the Government does not agree that torture is widely practiced, "I'm convinced and I think I have enough evidence
for that," Mr. Nowak told reporters after his address to the committee.
He said he found "overwhelming evidence that torture is routine" at a detention facility run by the Terrorist
Investigation Department at Boossa, near Galle.
In addition, "serious incidence of corporal punishment" was discovered at Bogambara, the main prison in Kandy, even
though that practice was recently abolished by law. The Government has stated it will investigate those cases and
dismiss those responsible. "In my opinion they should be dismissed and also brought to justice under Sri Lankan criminal
law," Mr. Nowak said.
The Special Rapporteur also highlighted the problem of overcrowded prisons, one of the main reasons for which is the
high number of pre-trial detainees in the prisons than actual convicted prisoners. There are some 28,000 people being
held in prisons that have the capacity to hold 8,200.
Mr. Nowak added that the most serious allegations of human rights violations, including torture, relate to the ongoing
conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But he noted that he was not in a
position to speak about that since he was not able to visit detention facilities in army camps or those run by the LTTE.
In addition to Sri Lanka, Mr. Nowak has visited Paraguay, Nigeria and Togo in the last year. He is scheduled to visit
Indonesia next month and Equatorial Guinea and Iraq early next year.
ENDS