Sri Lanka’s political detainees tortured in custody

A report by International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP), a rights group documenting alleged abuses in Sri Lanka, says 15 Tamils were tortured for two years. Sri Lanka ended a 25-year civil war between the ethnic Tamil minority separatists and government forces in 2009. Rights groups accused both sides of abuses during the war. The ITJP gave details in its report of 15 members of the minority Tamil community, who said they were beaten, burned, suffocated and sexually assaulted by authorities over the past two years. The 15 members – one woman and 14 men – were not identified in the ITJP report. Together, their testimony is the most detailed account of alleged new abuses in the island nation since former wartime defence chief Gotabaya Rajapaksa became president in 2019. The government completely denied the accusations. The alleged victims, who fled Sri Lanka, are now seeking asylum in the United Kingdom, took part in interviews over the course of several days with lawyers and human rights investigators. For further information, please visit: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/10/sri-lanka-tamils-political-detainees-torture-custody-human-rights-itjp