CAT/C/31/D/186/2001 Page 6 3.5 The complainant claims that he has exhausted domestic remedies and that the same matter has not been, and is not being, examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement. The State party’s observations on admissibility and merits 4.1 On 18 September 2001, the State party conceded that the complaint is admissible and, on 8 February 2002, submitted its observations on the merits of the complaint. It endorses the arguments advanced by the Federal Office for Refugees and the Asylum Review Commission, and concludes that the author has failed to substantiate that he would be at a real and personal risk of being subjected to torture upon return to Sri Lanka 4.2 The State party recalls important contradictions in the complainant’s statements, conveying the impression that he had not been tortured as gravely as he claims, which could not simply be explained by the lack of accuracy typically shown by victims of torture. Even if the complainant had been ill-treated in the past, this was but one element to be considered in determining his present risk of torture. It did not automatically follow from his alleged past experiences that he would be at a substantial risk of persecution by the Sri Lankan authorities. In addition, UNHCR assessed the risk of Sri Lankan asylum seekers whose application was rejected within fair asylum proceedings as being tolerable. 4.3 According to the State party, Tamils arrested during police round-ups were in most cases released within the 24 hours following their arrest, after their identity had been checked. The only Tamils facing longer periods of detention were those suspected of LTTE membership or whose family members were suspected LTTE members. Normally, residents of Tamil lodges were not arrested at all, as long as they could prove their identity. Having declared that he never participated in any political activities and that none of his family members belongs to the LTTE, the complainant could be presumed to be relatively safe from arrest by the security forces, given that he is also in possession of a copy documenting his acquittal by a Sri Lankan court, which he could easily produce during police controls. Moreover, the fact that was released twice after payment of bail showed that he was not seriously suspected of being an LTTE member. 4.4 The State party submits that the protection of detainees in Sri Lanka was strengthened with the establishment of a Committee of Inquiry into Undue Arrest and Harassment, to which all arrests under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and the Emergency Regulations must be reported, and which can examine complaints about ill-treatment by the security forces. The Committee adopted its directives on 7 September 1998, providing that no person shall be arrested without being informed about the charges against him, without his family being informed about these charges and the place of detention, or in the absence of incriminating evidence. According to governmental sources, these requirements have enhanced respect for human rights during identity controls, as well as detention. 4.5 As to the complainant’s medical situation, the State party submits that several institutions with an appropriate capacity for the treatment of traumatized victims existed in Sri Lanka, such as the Colombo-based Family Rehabilitation Centre which runs other branches in the country, and which offered appropriate medication as well as therapeutic treatment.