The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) makes confessions under any circumstance, including torture, admissible in court. Despite legal prohibitions, the security forces and police continued to torture and mistreat persons in custody and prisons, particularly Tamils suspected of supporting the LTTE.
Disappearances at the hand of the security forces continued in the north-east. As with extra-judicial killings, the exact number of disappearances was impossible to ascertain due to censorship of news about security force operations and infrequent access to the north-east. Arbitrary arrest and detention are problems. Large-scale arrests of Tamils continued during the year, particularly after LTTE bombings. Most detentions lasted several days to several months. Hundreds of Tamils indicted under the PTA remained without bail awaiting trial, some for more than two years. Many cases filed under the PTA or Emergency regulations drag on for years.
The State Department also says that the LTTE continued to commit serious human rights abuses in the ongoing war with the government. At least 170 non-combatants were killed from January to September in LTTE suicide bombings and other attacks outside the conflict zone. Through a campaign of killing and intimidation, the LTTE continued to undermine the work of local government bodies in Jaffna.
The LTTE also held military and civilian prisoners in poor detention facilities. The LTTE used child soldiers and disallowed freedom of association. It does not tolerate freedom of expression in areas under its control. Pro-government Tamil groups, acting under the direction of the security forces, committed extra-judicial killings in Vavuniya and the east and continued to run places of illegal detention.