Families of recently detained Tamil youth accuse Sri Lankan police of using torture

by Sutharshan
Aug 4, 2017

Families of Tamil youth that were arrested over recent weeks in relation to attacks against Sri Lankan police officers in Jaffna have accused the police of torturing two young boys and forcing them to sign statements.

In a complaint to Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Commission the families further accused the police of threatening to put a detention order on the arrested youth under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. 

The families maintain that they have evidence that their children were not present in areas the police claim they were during the incidents of violence.

Yogarasa Sajith and Arul Seelan Patrick Dinesh, both 18 years old, were arrested in Jaffna on Thursday.

The last week has seen a spate of arrests after Sri Lanka’s Inspector General of Police announced that armed forces would assist police in a search and arrest excercise to clamp down on anti-police violence in Jaffna.

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