A/HRC/34/54/Add.2 3. Rehabilitation of detainees under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 38. In lieu of prosecution, some detainees under the Prevention of Terrorism Act are sent for “rehabilitation”, often after having spent several years in remand detention. Rehabilitation is supposedly voluntary, but there appears to be an arbitrary selection process for entering the programme. Only 1 out of 24 rehabilitation facilities established by the Government shortly after the end of the conflict remains in operation, namely Poonthotam rehabilitation centre in Vavuniya. The programme comprises six months of rehabilitation and six months of re-education, which can be extended to up to 15 months. Upon completion, the individual is deemed “rehabilitated” and released. 39. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur was informed that 12,146 persons had been released after completing rehabilitation since 2010. Forty persons (39 male, 1 female) were still held at Poonthotam, some of whom had been deprived of their liberty since 2009 and were due to be released. 40. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that rehabilitated persons continue to be kept under surveillance by government agents years after their release, and are frequently harassed and threatened. They are often still forced to report to a police station or military post at regular intervals, where they are frequently threatened and ill-treated and, in some instances, arbitrarily detained and subjected to torture, including sexual torture. Harassment sometimes extends to civil society organizations that provide counselling and other services to rehabilitated persons. 41. While rehabilitated persons should not be immune from investigation of possible new crimes, authorities must clearly disclose the grounds for renewed detention. Recent arrests of rehabilitated persons have raised fear and distrust between communities. 4. Surveillance and intimidation 42. Owing to the heavy militarization that still exists in the North and East of the country, surveillance continues to be used as a tool of control and intimidation. In addition to rehabilitated persons, many former detainees under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and their families, anyone deemed to have had any link to LTTE during the conflict and political and human rights activists remain subject to extensive surveillance and intimidation by the military, intelligence and police forces. While the extent and level of this practice have dropped compared to the early post-conflict period, systematic surveillance and intimidation continues, sometimes constituting ill-treatment. 5. Sexual and gender-based violence 43. The Special Rapporteur received credible testimonies from men, women and juveniles of torture of a sexual nature in custody, many of them supported by medical forensic evaluations. These abuses are not investigated or prosecuted, and may remain underreported owing to stigma. An example of a tragic testimony received by the Special Rapporteur was that of a young woman who spoke credibly of having spent 3 1/2 years in sexual slavery at various military camps. 6. Violence against women 44. The Special Rapporteur was informed that women’s and children’s desks have been established in most police stations, staffed by female officers. This is a welcome initiative, but statistics on their impact are lacking. 45. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs was at the time of the visit leading the process of developing a national action plan to address gender-based violence. 9