AG to withdraw indictments under section 5 of PTA

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 February 2002, 17:41 GMT]
The Attorney General has instructed all State Counsels who appear on behalf of the AG's department in High Courts to withdraw two categories of cases filed under Section 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). Tamil youths who have been indicted for failing to provide information about the LTTE members in their respective areas and those who have been indicted on their own confession purported to have been made due to severe torture after the arrest are to be freed according to AG's instruction, legal sources said.

The Batticaloa High Court's State Counsel Mr.B.Sasi Mahendra said as instructed by the AG he would withdraw all indictments served on Tamil youths under Section 5 of the PTA. About sixty-two cases filed under Section 5 of the PTA are pending in the Batticaloa High Courts, legal sources said.

Several Tamil civilians arrested by the security forces for failing to provide information about the movements of LTTE cadres in their respective areas have been indicted under Section 5 of the PTA. They are liable for minimum five years imprisonment if found guilty after trial or on pleading guilty.

Many Tamil youths have also been indicted under Section 5 of the PTA on their own confession made to the Police. Majority of these youths have made their confession not voluntarily but due to severe torture on them while in detention by the security forces, human rights activists said.