(b) The author has been mistreated in the past by agents of the Sri Lankan
State. He has brain damage because of severe mistreatment by soldiers of
the Sri Lankan army. He has been detained on more than one occasion in
Colombo and mistreated by the police. This happened shortly before he
left Colombo;
(c) There is independent medical and psychiatric evidence from doctors
and psychiatrists associated with the Canadian Centre for Victims of
Torture that establishes clearly that he is a torture victim. The torture has
had a long-lasting effect on the author and his family;
(d) There is no substantive change in the situation in Sri Lanka since the
author left the country. The situation at the time of counsel's submission
is said to have been very serious and dangerous. A high level of
repression and the legal arsenal that permits almost total impunity are
firmly in place;
(e) The author was a supporter of the main Tamil party, TULF. He is from
the north and he has suffered torture in the past. His situation as a torture
victim in the past puts him greatly at risk today;
(f) The author is highly credible, with strong support from serious
organizations in Canada. The original decision did not find against him on
the issue of credibility;
(g) There is nothing incoherent or implausible about what the author says.
His personal security and his life are at risk in Sri Lanka today.
8.4 Counsel also contests the assertion that the authors' main fear is of the
Tamil Tigers. Counsel contends that the jurisprudence cited by the
Canadian authorities appears to relate to cases that were not substantiated
or where the author in question was not previously subjected to torture or
directly targeted.
8.5 Counsel states that it is untrue to say that there is no longer torture in
Colombo. All of the international human rights reports that are available
state the contrary. Even the Federal Court of Canada recognized, in its
decision granting the stay, that there is a risk of irreparable harm for the
author if he were sent back, as did the immigration agent examining his
case.
Issues and proceedings before the Committee