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End Indefinite Detention of Tamil Tiger Suspects
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
In a report released on February 1, 2010, Human Rights Watch has said that the Sri Lankan government needs to end its indefinite arbitrary detention of more than 11,000 people held in so-called rehabilitation centers and release those not being prosecuted. The government has been keeping 11,000 people in a legal limbo for months. It’s time to identify those posing a genuine security threat and to release the rest.
Human Rights Watch has found that the Sri Lankan government has routinely violated the fundamental rights of the detainees,. The government contends that the 11,000 detainees are former fighters or supporters of the defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Human Rights Watch has said that the Sri Lankan government has denied detainees the right to be informed of specific reasons for their arrest, to challenge the lawfulness of the detention before an independent judicial authority, and to have access to legal counsel and family members. It is unclear whether any have been formally charged with crimes or what acts they are accused of committing that led the government to detain them.
Human Rights Watch has said that while the government has the right and responsibility to protect public safety, it also has to do so in a lawful manner that respects basics rights.
