CAT/C/LKA/CO/5 Prolonged administrative detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 21. Although the state of emergency was lifted in 2011, the Committee remains deeply concerned that the administrative detention regime established in the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979 remains in force. Under this law, before bringing a suspect before a magistrate, security officers may detain that person for 72 hours, and thereafter for up to 18 months, in such a place and conditions as determined in a detention order issued by the Minister of Defence, which cannot be challenged in court. The Committee notes with concern that, in practice, suspects held under the Act have been held for as long as 15 years without being indicted, and even those who have been charged have remained in detention without a verdict for as long as 14 years. The Committee is also concerned at the large number of documented allegations of torture of persons formerly and currently detained under the Act who also allege violations of their due process rights during detention, in particular restrictions on access to their lawyers. While noting that a draft policy and legal framework has been proposed by the Government to replace the Act, the Committee regrets the lack of specific information provided by the delegation on the scope of the terrorism-related offences, the safeguards against arbitrary arrest and the judicial oversight of detention. In the absence of these clarifications, the Committee wishes to stress that any regime that would place suspects in the custody of the investigating authorities for prolonged detention and continuous questioning without access to appropriate safeguards and immediate judicial oversight would give rise to a real risk of torture and would therefore be contrary to the Convention (arts. 2, 11, 12 and 16). 22. The State party should take prompt legislative measures to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act and abolish the regime of administrative detention, which confines individuals outside the criminal justice system and makes them vulnerable to abuse. In the meantime, the State party should guarantee that magistrates promptly review all detention orders under the Act and that detainees who are designated for potential prosecution are charged and tried as soon as possible, and that those who are not charged or tried are immediately released. Should legislation on national security be considered necessary, the State party should abide by internationally recognized standards by adopting a precise definition of terrorist acts, ensuring the right of detainees to be brought promptly before a judge and to access a lawyer from the outset of the detention, and guaranteeing the requirements of strict necessity and proportionality of the detention and the periodic review of the detention by a court that can order the immediate release of the detainee or alternative measures. Enforced disappearances 23. While welcoming the State party’s increased engagement to clarify the fate of thousands of missing persons, including its efforts to adopt legislation that will incorporate the recently ratified International Convention on the Protection of Persons from Enforced Disappearance into domestic law, the Committee regrets the lack of clarification on the plans to equip the Office of Missing Persons with the necessary technical capacity and forensic expertise to conduct exhumations. The Committee expresses concern, furthermore, about the alarming assessment provided by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances following its visit to the State party on the lack of progress, impartiality and effectiveness of the ongoing investigation at the secret detention place in Navy Camp in Trincomalee, where many disappearances and torture-related offences allegedly occurred (arts. 2, 12, 14 and 16). 24. The State party should take all the necessary measures to combat impunity for the crime of enforced disappearance, in particular by: 7