More than 150 people are currently detained without bail under the Act for trying to leave the island illegally. The detainees allege that attempts are being made to transfer them to other prisons and have demanded a visit from the ICRC. Reports say that a detainee attempted to commit suicide.
Meanwhile, the Prisons Commissioner urged the Attorney General in early April to take urgent action to file cases against those held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency regulations or release them on bail. Over 1,200 Tamils are said to be in detention under these laws without trial, many for over two years.
According to human rights agencies, small-scale arrests of Tamils continue. Areas between Colombo’s Bambalapitiya and Dehiwala suburbs were searched in late April. Many Tamils in Kotahena and Slave Island say that men posing as officers of the Housing Authority had photographed them at their homes in late April. The Housing Authority has denied sending any officers.
The police say that Black Tiger suicide cadre continue to infiltrate southern areas, seeking high profile targets. A bomb near the President’s House in Colombo Fort commercial district on 26 April injured a policeman.Two security officers working in private firms nearby have been taken into custody.
The opposition United National Party cancelled meetings in Anuradhapura on 7 and 8 April, after the police Terrorist Investigation Division informed that a woman arrested in Trincomalee had revealed she had been assigned by the LTTE to assassinate party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe.
Concern remains over the lack of measures to prevent torture in custody. Jaffna resident Sabaratnam Vaseekaran, arrested in August 1999 in connection with the murder of MP Neelan Tiruchelvam, was released by the Colombo High Court in early April. He had suffered torture at the hands of police and a confession had been extracted.
The Colombo High Court released Batticaloa resident P Vijayakumar on 6 April. Mr Vijayakumar was arrested at Hunupitiya near Colombo in September 1999. The Judicial Medical Officer confirms his torture in custody. A confession had also been extracted from him.
Provincial councillor M Sivagnanam says that Tamils in Rattota are being forced to submit photographs for police registration. In Polonnaruwa District, police ordered rice mills not to employ Tamils ‘unless they can establish that they are not LTTE members’. Hundreds of workers from Batticaloa and the Hill Country have been ordered to leave.