The government has routinely violated the detainees' fundamental human rights, including the right to be informed of specific reasons for arrest, the right to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before an independent judicial authority, and the right of access to legal counsel and family members. The authorities' consistent failure to inform families of the basis for the detainees' arrest and their whereabouts raises serious concerns that some detainees may have been victims of torture and ill-treatment, which are more likely to take place where due process of law is lacking and which have long been serious problems in Sri Lanka. Given the lack of information about some detainees, there is also a risk that some may have been "disappeared."

This report is based on interviews with relatives of individuals who have been detained on suspicion of LTTE association. While the government prohibits access to the rehabilitation centers for most independent observers, and access to the camps and former conflict zones remains strictly limited, we were able to conduct more than a dozen interviews with families of detainees, as well as with numerous humanitarian workers and others in Sri Lanka with knowledge of the situation. Many of those interviewed for this report have requested that their names not be used out of fear of repercussions from the Sri Lankan authorities.

The 26-year-long armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, which ended with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009, took a heavy toll on the civilian population in areas affected by the fighting. During the final months of the conflict, both government forces and the LTTE demonstrated blatant disregard for civilian life and suffering.

As the LTTE retreated from government military advances, it forced civilians to retreat with it, effectively using them as human shields. The LTTE on numerous occasions fired on and killed civilians attempting to flee. The LTTE also continued its practice of forcibly recruiting civilians, including children under 18, into its forces or using them for dangerous military labor on the front lines.[1]

Sri Lankan armed forces indiscriminately bombed and shelled civilians trapped in a shrinking area of LTTE control. Army shelling often struck hospitals filled with civilians harmed in the fighting.[2] The government also prevented humanitarian organizations from delivering much needed food and medical supplies to civilians trapped in the war zone.

The United Nations has conservatively estimated that the fighting killed at least 7,000 civilians during the final five months of the conflict.[3] The government's refusal to allow any independent observers into the conflict zone or to talk to people who fled the conflict zone makes it impossible to establish conclusively the number of casualties.

Faced with possible starvation or death by shelling or gunfire, many civilians escaped to presumed safety in government-controlled areas, surviving fire from LTTE forces attempting to prevent their flight, almost continual crossfire and scattered landmines. For the most part people fled in small groups, but a massive exodus of tens of thousands of people took place after the government broke through LTTE defense fortifications on April 20. According to the United Nations, 290,000 people crossed over to government-controlled areas from the conflict zone between October 27, 2008, and June 1, 2009.[4]

At several checkpoints, security forces screened and registered the displaced before transporting them to detention camps in the north, which the government euphemistically called "welfare centers." The largest detention camp was the multi-camp Menik Farm in Vavuniya district. The government denied the displaced in the camps their rights to liberty and freedom of movement. Individuals in the camps could not leave to work or live with family members or others elsewhere. The government started releasing significant numbers from the camps only in November 2009. By that time, the majority of the displaced had been confined to the camps for more than six months. Those who were displaced first, in March 2008, had spent more than 18 months in confinement.[5]

Both at checkpoints and in the camps, the authorities separated certain individuals from their families—presumably because of alleged ties with the LTTE—and sent them to "rehabilitation centers."

The government has the right and responsibility to protect public safety. International law allows the government to take measures to identify and apprehend individuals who acted on behalf of the LTTE in violation of the law, including LTTE combatants and leaders hiding among the displaced population.

However, the detention and treatment of LTTE suspects must also be in accordance with international law. Human Rights Watch research shows that the government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees.

It is unclear whether any of the 11,000 detainees have been formally charged with any crimes and what acts these individuals have committed that led to their detention. In December, 2009, one government minister said that only 200 of the 11,000 detainees will be charged with a crime and that the vast majority of the detainees were forced to fight by the LTTE.[6] In January, 2010, another government minister said the government will not release the 14,000 [sic] LTTE suspects anytime soon, "because some of them are suspected to be connected to very serious incidents."[7]

The government has routinely violated the detainees' right to be informed of specific reasons for arrest, the right to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before an independent judicial authority (habeas corpus), and the right of access to legal counsel and family members.

In many cases, the authorities have failed to inform family members about the whereabouts of the detainees. Often, family members who themselves were deprived of their liberty in detention camps have had great difficulty in locating relatives who were taken away from the camps. While some families have been able to locate their relatives in other camps, many people remain missing weeks and months after they were separated from their families, raising fears that they might have been subjected to enforced disappearance. Concerns about the fate of detainees are aggravated by Sri Lanka's appalling record of enforced disappearances.[8]

The government argues that the detainees are "surrendees" under the Sri Lankan emergency laws that permit the government to hold without charge or trial individuals for up to two years. It claims that the 11,000 detainees acknowledged that they had participated in the insurgency and effectively turned themselves in.[9] The absence of information on arrests and detention makes it impossible to determine whether those deemed to be surrendees actually surrendered voluntarily. Human Rights Watch research shows that many of the so-called surrendees were in fact detained against their will, contrary to government claims.

Government promises that the "surrendees" will be released after their rehabilitation do not make the detentions legal.[10]

Because the recruitment and use of individuals under the age of 18 in hostilities is illegal, such children should be treated first and foremost as victims in need of protection and assistance with reintegration into society. Children who have been connected with the LTTE should not be prosecuted, punished, or threatened with prosecution or punishment solely for their association or membership. Any prosecution for crimes committed by children when they were associated with the LTTE, as well as any detention pending such prosecution, should conform to international juvenile justice standards.

The government's treatment of security detainees has fed fears among many Tamils that the government intends to persecute and discriminate against the Tamil population. It is important for public confidence in the government that these cases be dealt with in accordance with Sri Lanka's obligations under international human rights law.

Human Rights Watch urges the Sri Lankan government to:

* Immediately make public specific information on the whereabouts of those detained on security grounds and the legal basis for the detention of each individual;

* Ensure that individuals detained are held in conformity with international law, including being charged with a criminal offense or released;

* Ensure that those held are able to contest their detention before an independent court and have access to legal counsel and other internationally guaranteed due process and fair trial protections; and

* Ensure that family members are informed of the whereabouts of those detained.

Human Rights Watch also calls upon influential governments and the United Nations and its relevant agencies to publicly and privately raise concerns about the legal status and treatment of security detainees. While the Sri Lankan government has requested financial support from the international community to build rehabilitation centers for LTTE cadres, no such support should be provided unless and until the basic rights of those detained are respected.

Full Report: The Uncertain Fate of Detained LTTE Suspects in Sri Lanka