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B. Identified <strong>Torture</strong> Sites, Commanders & Perpetrators<br />
- 41 known sites of torture in Sri Lanka.<br />
- 15 survivors of torture at Joseph Camp interviewed, perpetrators &<br />
commanders identified.<br />
- Manik Farm rape accounts.<br />
- Secret torture site in Trincomalee Naval Dockyard, perpetrators &<br />
commanders identified.<br />
Types of Detention Post-War<br />
At the end of the war in May 2009, thousands of LTTE members surrendered to<br />
the security forces, many after hearing loudspeaker announcements saying<br />
even if they had been with the organisation for one hour they should hand<br />
themselves in. Some of those who surrendered as combatants had actually<br />
been forced by the LTTE to join in the final months, including many children.<br />
They were victims of the LTTE, but that was not how they were viewed by the Sri<br />
Lankan military. Many of them ended up spending more time in military-run<br />
“rehabilitation” than they had spent with the LTTE in the first place. Our<br />
witnesses, including our insider security forces and government insiders, state<br />
that these “rehabilitation” camps were places where multiple witnesses<br />
endured brutal torture and repeated sexual violence; a better name would be<br />
punishment camps.<br />
A large number of people suspected of involvement with the LTTE were also<br />
identified by informers at the front-line during initial screening, or at<br />
Omanthai check point where they were processed, or in Manik Farm IDP camp.<br />
LTTE suspects were sent for “rehabilitation” to special camps but there was no<br />
transparency about how long they would be held, and no right of appeal for<br />
wrongful detention or proper safeguards to prevent torture 44 . There was no<br />
procedure for determining who was a former combatant and who was a<br />
civilian, and the camps were clearly not being run as Prisoner Of War centres<br />
44 “Several former LTTE combatants released from rehabilitation centers reported torture or mistreatment as well as sexual abuse by<br />
government officials while in rehabilitation centers.” From Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Country <strong>Report</strong>s on<br />
Human Rights Practices for 2014, accessed at<br />
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2014&dlid=236650#wrapper<br />
47
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