Currently over 800 Tamils are held in Kalutara under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and Emergency regulations, including 630 from north-east Sri Lanka. Detainees complained to a team of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (HRC) visiting Kalutara prison in January, about their treatment, insecurity and conditions in the prison.
They say food provided to them is insufficient and adequate medicines are not available in the prison hospital, particularly for diabetes and heart disease. Relatives from the north-east find it extremely difficult to visit the prison because of restrictions imposed under Emergency regulations. Cases against many of them in the High Courts of Colombo, Kandy and Badulla are usually postponed for long periods, sometimes to nine months. Five youths ordered to be released by the courts are still in custody.
The police arrested Jaffna journalist Nadarasa Thiruchelvam, 48, on the night of 2 January, while in Colombo for a wedding. Mr Thiruchelvam has informed the HRC that he was handcuffed to a chair and confined for 12 days in a room. On 14 January, he was transferred to the sixth floor of the police headquarters, where he was beaten with plastic pipes filled with concrete. His wife was allowed one visit but was not informed of the reasons for the arrest.
Colombo human rights agencies say search operations and Tamil arrests in the city continue. The Centre for Human Rights and Development estimates that 18,000 arrests were made in 2000. The agencies are particularly concerned over arrests in the nights. Lodges and shops in Grandpass were searched on the night of 25 January and 35 Tamils were taken into custody. Reports say all were released after enquiry.