A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 20 the Special Rapporteur received only a comparatively low number of allegations of torture from detainees suspected of ordinary crimes. But, in the context of detention orders under the Emergency Regulations and in particular with respect to LTTE suspects, the clear majority of all detainees interviewed by the Special Rapporteur complained about a broad variety of methods of torture, some extremely brutal. In many cases, these allegations were corroborated by forensic evidence. The considerable number of clearly established cases of torture by TID and other security forces, together with various efforts by TID to hide evidence and to obstruct the investigations of the Special Rapporteur, leads him to the conclusion that torture has become a routine practice in the context of counter-terrorism operations, both by the police and the armed forces. 71. Methods of torture reported included beating with various weapons, beating on the soles of the feet (falaqa), blows to the ears (telephono), positional abuse when handcuffed or bound, suspension in various positions, including strappado, “butchery”, “reversed butchery” and “parrot’s perch” (or dharma chakara), burning with metal objects and cigarettes, asphyxiation with plastic bags with chilli pepper or gasoline, and various forms of genital torture.21 This array of torture finds its fullest manifestation at the TID detention facility in Boosa. The Special Rapporteur is also shocked by the brutality of some of the torture measures applied to persons suspected of being LTTE members, such as burnings with soldering irons and suspension by the thumbs. The latter method was allegedly applied by the army. 72. As reported above, the Special Rapporteur found out that more than half of the detainees of the Boosa detention facility had been either liberated or brought to other places of detention, such as TID in Colombo and the Colombo Remand Prison, in the days preceding his visit. In interviews with the remaining detainees, the Special Rapporteur learned that the transferred detainees were those who had been most seriously tortured previously and still bore marks of the ill-treatment. In an effort to trace the persons concerned, the Special Rapporteur received a list from the Director of TID in Colombo, indicating where the transferred detainees could be found. The Special Rapporteur later visited Colombo Remand Prison and TID in Colombo a second time and spoke with a number of the detainees concerned (see appendix). 73. Intimidation of victims by police officers to cause them to refrain from making complaints was commonly reported, as were allegations of threats of further violence, or threatening to fabricate criminal cases of possession of narcotics or dangerous weapons. Detainees regularly reported that habeas corpus hearings before a magistrate either involved no real opportunity to complain about police torture given that they were often escorted to courts by the very same perpetrators, or that the magistrate did not inquire into whether the suspect was mistreated in custody. Medical examinations were frequently alleged to take place in the presence of the perpetrators, or directed to junior doctors with little experience in the documentation of injuries. 21 See also de Zoysa, P., and Fernando, R. (2007), “Methods and sequelae of torture: A study in Sri Lanka”, Torture, 17, pp. 53-56.