Return to War - Human Rights Watch

In February 2007 Human Rights Watch interviewed the family members of 17 people
whom the families believe were detained by the police, although they did not know
whether they were specifically arrested under the Emergency Regulations. All said
they had been unable to obtain any information about the location of their relative or
the charges against them.
Also problematic is that the 2005 Emergency Regulations allow joint operations
between the army and the police, with no clarity on responsibility. Lawyers working
on cases of arrests under the regulations say that the police often round up alleged
suspects in cordon and search operations in conjunction with the military and then
tell lawyers and family members that they must speak to the military because the
police have no information about the arrest. 147
According to Sri Lankan lawyers and human rights activists, detainees under the
Emergency Regulations are kept in regular prisons as well as police stations and
other detention facilities, including those run by the Terrorism Investigation Division.
The total number of people detained under Emergency Regulations since 2005 is
unknown. The government has failed to provide complete lists of those detained, the
charges they face, and the locations where they are being held.
On March 8, 2006, government defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that
452 persons were in detention under the Emergency Regulations, among them 15
soldiers, five policemen, one former policeman, and three military deserters. The
ethnic breakdown of the detainees, he said, was 372 Tamils, 61 Sinhalese, and 19
Muslims. 148 The number of detainees is certainly significantly higher now, as these
figures predate the resumption of major hostilities.
On June 18, 2007, Human Rights Watch asked the government how many people it
had arrested under the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers)
Regulations (EMPPR) since its enactment in August 2005, where they were being
147 Human Rights Watch interviews with lawyers, Colombo, February 2007.
148 The figure is mentioned in a report by the International Crisis Group, “Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Crisis,” June 14, 2007,
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2007.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/DBC51E0313E10AB5852572FA006892C6-
Full_Report.pdf/$File/Full_Report.pdf (accessed July 18, 2007), which cites "Sri Lanka Human Rights Update," INFORM
and Law and Society Trust, March 15, 2007.
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Human Rights Watch August 2007