3.4The complainant argues that, because of his post-traumatic stress disorder, he is likely to show uncontrolled reactions in situations of danger such as raids and street inspections, which would further increase the risk of arrest and subsequent torture by the police. Moreover, no adequate medical and therapeutic treatment exists in Sri Lanka for traumatized persons. 3.5The 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 4.1On 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. 4.2The 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. 4.3According 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 he was released twice after payment of bail showed that he was not seriously suspected of being an LTTE member. 4.4The 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. 4.5As 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. 4.6Lastly, the State party argues that, on 14 February 2001, the complainant himself agreed to benefit from the repatriation programme offered by the Federal Office for Refugees. Complainant’s comments on the State party’s submissions 5.1On 16 July 2002, counsel commented on the State party’s merits submission, arguing that contradictions in the complainant’s statements before the Swiss authorities resulted from a “diffusion of reality”. Traumatized persons often experienced difficulties in remembering the details and chronology of their history. That the complainant changed essential details of his statements, such as the time of the visits of the ICRC delegates, during one and the same interview before the BFF only reflected the seriousness of his posttraumatic stress disorder. A healthy person intending to lie to the authorities would have presented a more coherent story. 5.2The complaint’s psychological disorder is said to increase his risk of being arrested, and subsequently tortured, by the Sri Lankan security forces, as he panics and tries to escape whenever he sees a policeman. That such behaviour would be considered suspicious by the police was reflected by the fact that the complainant provoked his own arrest at the train station of Zug on 23 July 2002, when he had recognized a policeman dressed in civilian and tried to run away. Once arrested, the Sri Lankan authorities could reasonably believe that the complainant was an LTTE activist, because of the scars on his body. 5.3The complainant submits that the Federal Office for Refugees had merely challenged the objectivity of the psychiatric report and did not comply with its duty of investigation by ordering his examination by another psychiatrist. Similarly, the BFF had simply expressed doubts about the origin of the burns on his genitals, without investigating into the causes. 5.4By reference to a judgement of the Administrative Court of Dresden (Germany) of 12 December 2000, the complainant submits that facilities for the treatment of traumatized persons in Sri Lanka are not sufficient to meet the demand of the tens of thousands of victims of torture in need. According to the Family Rehabilitation Centre itself, returned Tamil asylum seekers suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder have little chance to receive appropriate and sustained treatment. 5.5The complainant contends that he only signed up for the repatriation programme in February 2001 because he suffered from depression at that time, due to the repeated rejection of his asylum claim by the Swiss authorities. 5.6On 23 July 2002, the complainant submitted another psychiatric report dated 19 July 2002 and issued by the Zurich Institute for Psychotraumatology (IPZ), diagnosing symptoms of social disintegration coupled with abuse of alcohol, depressive symptoms and the