In a report, 'Locked away: Sri Lanka's security detainees', released Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) highlighted the ongoing arbitrary, illegal and often incommunicado detention of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka.
Sam Zarifi, AI’s Asia-Pacific Director said,
“A lack of accountability for alleged war crimes gives the green light to Sri Lankan authorities to act with impunity. Meanwhile the message coming from the Sri Lankan government is that those who dare criticise it risk harassment, or even disappearance.”
If Sri Lanka is serious about ending impunity and committed to reconciling communities torn apart by conflict, the rule of law needs to be a large part of that equation. While governments have the right to address national security concerns, human rights abuses are never justified.
“The war crimes alleged in Sri Lanka in the final stages of the war are of such magnitude that if unchallenged risk fundamentally undermining international justice mechanisms - the UN must support an independent international investigation into these alleged crimes.”
In a statement, AI said,
"Reports of illegal detentions persist. Since October 2011, 32 people have been ‘abducted’ or subjected to abduction-style arrests."
"Many of these people are still missing."
"Today many hundreds of Sri Lankan security detainees remain in facilities ranging from prisons to ‘rehabilitation’ camps. The country has no central registry of detainees, making it difficult to gain information on those still detained."
