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 Netherlands 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, owing 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 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 is said to fail to control the police and the military. The complaint 3. 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. 4.2 The State party points out that in the course of the domestic proceedings, a careful assessment had been made of the general human rights situation in Sri Lanka and the feasibility of return to Sri Lanka. According to the State party's available information, the so-called "Black Cats death squads" were active in the years 1988 to 1990, when the United National Party was in power. After the People's Alliance came into power in 1994, the human rights situation in Sri Lanka improved and all previous restrictions on the freedom of the press were withdrawn. In September 1995, when the armed conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers 90