CAT/C/23/D/96/1997
page 4
2.7
The author then initiated summary proceedings before the District Court in The Hague in
order to obtain from its President a decision that he should not be deported pending the
completion of the review procedure. This application was rejected on 14 December 1993 and
on 29 July 1994, the State Secretary of Justice rejected the author's application for review.
2.8
On 10 August 1994, the author appealed the decision of the State Secretary to the
District Court in The Hague, which rejected the appeal on 14 July 1995. Finally, on
5 December 1995, the Dutch section of Amnesty International intervened on behalf of the
author, but the State Secretary replied on 16 May 1997 that she would not revoke her decision,
inter alia due to the change which had taken place in the political situation in Sri Lanka
since 1992.
2.9
The author states that he still suffers from health problems as a consequence of the
torture to which he was subjected. He refers to a medical report, dated 11 December 1995,
according to which he had problems with his shoulder, back and left leg, and that these
conditions were not incompatible with the torture as described. In a further medical report
of 23 October 1997 by Amnesty International’s medical research team, it is stated that the
physical examination showed several physical signs that fit the types of torture described by the
author, such as insertion of needles under fingernails. The report further stated that although the
author was not suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome at the time, the anamnesis
suggested that he had probably suffered from it in the past and was able to develop effective
strategies to cope. According to the report, many indicators of post-traumatic stress were
apparent, such as avoidance behaviour, partial amnesia and sleep disorders.
2.10 According to the author, the human rights situation in Sri Lanka in 1992 was alarming.
Photographers and journalists were particularly targeted. He refers to press reports according to
which in the early 1990s death squads known as “black cats” were operating with the support of
the Government. Many human rights activists disappeared. After the 1994 elections the
United National Party (UNP) lost power and was replaced in Government by the People’s
Alliance (PA). However, journalists continued to be intimidated and disappearances and
executions continued. Prosecution and punishment for past human rights violations are said to
be inadequate and the Government fails to control the police and the military.
The complaint
3.1
The author argues that he would be in danger of being tortured if he were to return to
Sri Lanka. He states that there is a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant and mass human rights
violations in that country and fears that those responsible for the killings photographed by him
may seek revenge. He says that it cannot be required of someone who was a victim of serious
human rights violations in the past that he return to the country where those violations occurred.
State party’s observations on admissibility and merits
4.1
In a submission of 19 January 1998, the State party informed the Committee that in its
view, the author had exhausted available domestic remedies and that it accepted the admissibility
of the communication. In submissions of 19 May 1998, 28 May 1998 and 19 June 1998, the
State party presented its observations regarding the merits of the communication.