informed the Committee that authors would not be returned to Sri Lanka
while their case was under consideration by the Committee.
The facts as submitted by the authors
2.1 As to Mr. S.S., a member of the Tamil ethnic group, it is stated that he
was held in detention by the Tamil Tiger organization LTTE from 10
January 1995 until 30 September 1995 for having publicly criticized the
organization and its leader, and refusing to take part in its activities. During
the period of detention, he performed tasks such as woodcutting, filling
sandbags, digging bunkers and cooking. Before he was detained by LTTE,
his father had been detained in his place and he had died in detention of a
heart attack. On 30 September 1995, Mr. S.S. escaped from the LTTE
barracks and travelled to Colombo.
2.2 On 3 October 1995, he was arrested by police, during a routine check,
for inability to show an identity card. He was questioned as to personal
details and whether he was involved with LTTE, which he denied. He
claims not to have been believed and to have been accused of spying for
LTTE and travelling to Colombo to plan an attack. The next day he was
released upon the intervention of an uncle and payment of a sum of money,
subject to an obligation to report daily to police while staying in Colombo.
The author states that he heard that the authorities intended to transfer him
to Boosa prison, from which allegedly detainees never emerge alive. On 8
October 1995, Mr. S.S. left the country by air for the Netherlands.
2.3 On 18 December 1995, Mr. S.S.'s request for asylum of 19 October 1995
was denied. An appeal made to the Secretary of Justice on 23 January 1996
was rejected on 16 September 1996. The Secretary's decision was appealed
on 30 October 1996, but before the case was brought for hearing Mr. S.S.
was informed that the decision of 16 September 1996 was withdrawn. A
new decision would be taken after his case had been heard by an
independent Advisory Commission on Aliens Affairs (Adviescommissie
voor vreemdelingzaken).
2.4 As to Mrs. S.A., also a member of the Tamil ethnic group, it is
contended that in mid-November 1995 she was also detained by LTTE in an
attempt to determine her husband's whereabouts and activities. While in the
LTTE camp, she was forced to perform duties such as cooking and cleaning.
After being taken to hospital at the end of March 1996, she escaped on 3
April 1996.
2.5 On 17 June 1996, she was arrested by the Eelam People's Revolutionary
Liberation Front (EPRLF). She states that she was accused by a third party