SLA violates detainees rights- HRC

[TamilNet, Thursday, 02 February 2006, 04:05 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers in Jaffna has grossly violated the fundamental rights of arrested Tamil youths by sending them to the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) in Colombo for interrogation without adhering to proper judicial procedures, said Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna Wednesday. In the past 45 days five Jaffna youths, presumed disappeared after arrests by the SLA, have been sent to the TID unit in Colombo, according to Jaffna Police.

Jaffna Police told the HRC officials Wednesday that Murugathas Theeparooban, 19, from Kaithady East, Nunaval, who was arrested on 22 December at his home by the SLA, and Ratnam Anandarajah, 33, another married man arrested by SLA have been sent to TID in Colombo on Wednesday.

Earlier, SLA had denied arresting either of the men and Theeparooban's parents had filed a missing report with the HRC office in Jaffna soon after he was arrested.

SLA handed over Theeparooban on 15 January to the Chavakachcheri Police, after keeping him in detention for nearly 20 days, and the Police later left him in the custody of the Kankesanthurai Police at their Special detention center.

Meanwhile, Packianathan Kamalakannan, a trainee at the Palaly Teachers Training college, who was arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) following the claymore mine attack in Point Pedro that killed twelve SLA soldiers on 27 December, and two other Jaffna youths arrested earlier and presumed disappeared, were already with the TID in Colombo, Jaffna Police told the HRC officials.

HRC condemned the long incarceration of the detainees without adhering to internationally accepted procedures that guarntees safety of life , and said that by sending the detainees to the TID before producing them before a judge, SLA stands accused of attempting to place false charges on the detainees through forced confessions at the TID.