A Tamil Canadian who was tortured by Sri Lankan state forces when he reutrned to the island in 2007 has filed an official complaint at to the UN Human Rights Committee, accusing Sri Lanka of violating international human rights laws.
44-year-old Roy Samathanam, a Canadian citizen since 1996, was arrested in Colombo, by machine-gun wielding officers from Sri Lanka's Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) in 2007.
He was handcuffed, blindfolded, kept in custody and tortured for 3 years after failing to provide a bribe, whilst his wife and daughter were placed under house arrest.
With the help of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, Samathanam has now filed a complaint UN Human Rights Committee, demanding justice.
He has also called for criminal charges to be taken against Sgt. Abdeen, a unit commander at the TID detention facility near Colombo Harbour, and the centre’s Officer in Charge, Prasanna de Alwis, stated the Toronto Star.
Samathanam said,
“I am doing this for me and for others who have been tortured and are still detained in jails in Sri Lanka. I want those officials who tortured me to be tried in the court of law and face justice.”
See the full report here.
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