submitted two medical reports, dated 6 January and 5 September 1999, confirming that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. By submission of 10 October 1999, the BFF maintained its position, arguing that the complainant could receive adequate therapeutic treatment at the Family Rehabilitation Centre in Colombo or at one of its 12 branch offices in Sri Lanka. Moreover, it noted a contradiction between the medical report of 6 January 1999, which referred to the complainant having been detained for 14 days in Colombo prior to his arrest on 31 January 1996, and the complainant’s failure to raise this point during the interviews. 2.8On 30 November 2000, the ARK dismissed the complainant’s appeal. It endorsed the findings of the BFF and added the following grounds: (a) that none of the complainant’s alleged arrests resulted in criminal proceedings against him, for collaboration with the LTTE; (b) that the fact that the complainant was twice detained in Colombo was irrelevant for his asylum application; (c) that, even if the complainant suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, he had failed to substantiate that this was the result of persecution by the Sri Lankan authorities; (d) that the complainant had failed to submit reliable documents to prove his identity; and (e) that the complainant’s deportation to Sri Lanka would not constitute an unreasonable hardship, in the absence of sufficient grounds for believing that he would be subjected to torture, and given that his family continued to live in the northern Province (Tellipalai) and that adequate treatment for his post-traumatic stress disorder would be available in Sri Lanka.2.9The BFF thereafter set a new deadline for the complainant to leave Switzerland by 5 February 2001. The complaint 3.1The complainant claims that his forcible return to Sri Lanka would constitute a violation by Switzerland of article 3 of the Convention, since there are substantial grounds for believing that, as a young Tamil who was repeatedly arrested and interrogated by the authorities and militia groups, and whose brother was known to be an LTTE member, he would be subjected to torture upon return to Sri Lanka. 3.2He submits that the Sri Lankan security forces carry out daily raids and street inspections against Tamils, who can be arrested for up to 18 months, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) without an arrest warrant and without being informed of the charges against them. Under the Emergency Regulations (ER) supplementing the PTA, this period may repeatedly be prolonged for 90 days by a judicial commission whose decisions are not subject to appeal. During this time, detainees are frequently interrogated about their contacts with the LTTE, and are often subjected to torture, ill-treatment or even extrajudicial execution. 3.3By reference to several reports on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, the complainant claims that the risk of torture for Tamils has not diminished significantly in recent years. 3.4The complainant submits that no clear distinction between governmental and non governmental persecution, as envisaged in the Swiss Political Asylum Act, can be made in civil war situations such as in Sri Lanka, which were often characterized by either the total absence of control or its simultaneous exercise by different groups in certain areas. Thus, in certain parts of the country, Tamil militia such as the EPRLF or the TELO persecuted LTTE supporters in close cooperation with the Sri Lankan army, and frequently tortured suspects in their own prison camps. Such treatment was therefore equivalent to State persecution. 3.5The complainant argues that because of his post-traumatic stress disorder, a sequel of his torture in the EPRLF/TELO camp, as well as his experience related to the bombing of the church in Navaly, he is likely to display uncontrolled reactions in situations of danger such as raids and street inspections, which would further increase his risk of arrest and torture by the Sri Lankan police. 3.6The complainant claims that politically persecuted refugees are frequently without papers and that he has sufficiently proven his identity, with a photocopy of his identity card and his birth certificate. He could not be expected to obtain a passport or a new identity card by presenting himself to Sri Lankan authorities. 3.7The complainant claims that the same matter has not been, and is not being, examined under another procedure of international investigation or settlement, and that he has exhausted domestic remedies. In particular, he claims that an extraordinary appeal to the ARK would be futile in the absence of fresh evidence. The State party’s observations on admissibility and merits 4.1On 8 June 2001, the State party conceded that the communication is admissible; on 29 November 2001, it submitted its observations on the merits. It endorses the arguments of the Federal Office for Refugees and the Asylum Review Commission in the complainant’s case, and concludes that the complainant has failed to substantiate a real and personal risk of being subjected to torture, in the event of his return to Sri Lanka. 4.2The State party argues that the complainant failed to submit any new elements which would justify a challenge of the decisions of the BFF and the ARK. Similarly, the evidence presented during domestic asylum proceedings (i.e. press articles, a letter from his mother and an ICRC identity card) was insufficient to substantiate his allegations of past persecution, or a future risk of torture in Sri Lanka. The medical reports confirming his post-traumatic stress disorder were based on his own account and ignored other possible, and more likely, causes for these symptoms. 4.3While conceding that the complainant was detained at the Pettah police station in Colombo from 31 January to 22 February 1996, the State party considers this detention irrelevant for his claim that he is at risk of torture upon his return to Sri Lanka. Likewise, no such risk could be inferred from the frequent identity controls and arrests of Tamils in Sri Lanka. 4.4The State party submits that the fact that no criminal proceedings were instituted against the complainant shows that he is not personally at risk of being tortured by the Sri Lankan security forces. For the State party, the EPRLF and TELO militia, if at all active in the Chankanai area in 1997, never showed an interest in the complainant’s own activities, but allegedly tortured him to extract information about the LTTE connection of his deceased brother, S.