Arrested Tamils do not have legal representations

"LTTE’s Balakumar, Pulavar Puthuvai, Lawrence Christy and fates of many others are still not known as the government is maintaining a tight lip silence about their fate. According to news filtering through Colombo sources, these men have been assassinated by the government death squads."
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By Rajasingham Jayadevan

(August 13, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) Many Tamil who have been arrested on suspicion of LTTE connections are not offered legal representations and the situation for the confirmed LTTE members is said to be worse that neither the government has facilitated legal representation nor there is unwillingness on the part of independent legal practitioners to offer their services due to Defence Ministry pressures on the profession.

The latest high figure of the LTTE Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) arrested and brought to Colombo under international conspiracy and violation of international law too is not legally processed and his investigations are carried under questionable circumstances. Branding of lawyers offering services to such cases by the Defence Ministry as traitors has caused considerable consternation within the legal profession in Sri Lanka.

Whilst such fear is embedded in the judicial process, the fate of some of those arrested in the IDP camps by the army is still not known. LTTE’s Balakumar, Pulavar Puthuvai, Lawrence Christy and fates of many others are still not known as the government is maintaining a tight lip silence about their fate. According to news filtering through Colombo sources, these men have been assassinated by the government death squads. When relatives of some of those presumed dead contacted the ICRC, they were told these LTTE members names are not in their list as arrested persons.

Even the hundreds of Sri Lankan solicitors living overseas, who have the right of representation in the Sri Lankan courts are not coming forward to represent the LTTE men due to fear of the Defence Ministry pressures.

These men’s safety is not under the scrutiny of the international community too and it is said law of the jungle under the Terrorism Act of Sri Lanka is used against them and those surviving will be expected to be meted with Kangaroo Court justice in the lack of independent judicial system in Sri Lanka.

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