1 Tamil Political Prisoners in Sri Lanka March 2013 By N.Sivathasan A report into arbitrary detention, prison conditions, the Vavuniya riot, and its aftermath. This report was undertaken by Tamil and Sinhalese researchers from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. We would like to thank the Watchdog team that facilitated the production of this report and many more people who cannot be named for fear of retaliation. The final manuscript was produced by the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice. www.srilankacampaign.org Media contact:
[email protected] 2 Contents Executive summary ............................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 1. Arbitrary detention in Sri Lanka .................................................................................. 5 2. Tamil Political Prisoners ............................................................................................. 8 3. Legal Framework ........................................................................................................ 8 4. History of violence against Tamil political prisoners .................................................. 10 5. The Post-War period and lack of reform ................................................................... 14 6. Current situation ......................................................................................................