Despite long-term existence of laws against torture and the enactment of the Torture Act in 1994, the crime is committed with impunity. Amnesty says while a handful of cases are reportedly pending in courts, so far no one has been convicted. The highest judicial authority in the island, the Supreme Court, has commented on the prevailing climate of impunity in relation to torture and has repeatedly expressed frustration at the lack of follow-up by the police and the Attorney General. The wide powers given to security forces under Emergency regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act which allow prolonged detention without judicial authority, permit torture and provisions making confessions admissible as evidence are an incentive for torture to extract a confession.
The prevalence of torture is intrinsically linked with other human rights abuses, particularly, long-term pattern of disappearances reported in the country. Amnesty has recorded torture of Tamil political prisoners, torture of children and rape by security forces in custody. There is strong evidence, according to Amnesty, that the current post-mortem procedures have been repeatedly used to cover-up the torture to death or killing by shooting of detainees.