CAT/C/30/D/197/2002
page 3
The facts as submitted by the petitioner
2.1
The petitioner was a member of the People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam
(PLOTE) until 1985, when the organization was forbidden by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Elam (LTTE). In 1985, the LTTE arrested the petitioner and detained him for four months,
during which he was interrogated on the location of PLOTE’s weapons. Subsequently, the
LTTE interrogated him on several occasions.
2.2
During this period, the petitioner was working as a bus conductor and travelling between
areas controlled by the LTTE and the Sri Lankan army. In view of his occupation and the fact
that he was no longer a member of the PLOTE, the PLOTE suspected him of cooperating with
the LTTE and informed the Sri Lankan army of their suspicions.
2.3
In March 1987, the petitioner was arrested by the Sri Lankan army and detained for
almost two years. During his detention, the petitioner was allegedly tortured on a regular basis
for a period of six months. He was beaten, kicked, hung in the “chicken position” where he was
left to hang from his left shoulder, his genitals were “injured”, his hands were burned with a hot
object, and he was given electrical shocks while cold water was poured over him.
2.4
After his release on 2 January 1989, the petitioner was rearrested and interrogated three
to four times, for up to three days each, by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). He was also
interrogated by the LTTE in order to find out what he had told the IPKF about members of the
LTTE.
2.5
In June 1989, the petitioner escaped to Germany, where he applied for asylum. His
application was rejected, and he immediately attempted to go to France. French police arrested
him and returned him to Germany. From Germany, he was returned to Sri Lanka in July 1989.
On his return, he stayed in the LTTE-controlled area of Jaffna until 1995. He was interrogated
several times by the LTTE to find out whether he had any connections with the PLOTE.
2.6
In 1996, after the Sri Lankan army occupied Jaffna, the petitioner escaped to Vanni,
where he lived with relatives, and then moved on to Hatton. During his time in Hatton, he was
arrested twice by the Sri Lankan army, as he was new in the area. In 1998, he was arrested by
the Sri Lankan police and detained for three months on suspicion of being an LTTE member.
During his detention he was severely beaten; he remains scarred on his lips and behind his ear, as
a result of being hit by a gun. In March 1998, and after bribing the police, he was released.
2.7
After his release, the petitioner escaped through Russia to Finland where he arrived on
21 December 1998. He immediately applied for asylum. On 12 February 2001, the Directorate
of Immigration rejected his application and issued a deportation order against him. On
13 November 2001, the Helsinki Administrative Court rejected his appeal. The petitioner then
applied for leave to appeal and suspension of the deportation order to the Supreme
Administrative Court. On 31 December 2001, his application was rejected.
2.8
The petitioner underwent several physical and psychological examinations after his
arrival in Finland. He has submitted six medical reports, three on his physical condition and
three on his psychological state, dated between 9 October 1999 and 7 January 2002. The reports
of 21 September 2000 and 5 October 1999 refer to scars to his lip and behind his left ear. The