CAT/C/35/D/231/2003 Page 8 7.2 The Committee has noted recent reports on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka to the effect that, although efforts have been made to eradicate torture, instances of torture in police custody continue to be reported and complaints of torture are frequently not investigated effectively. 2 7.3 The Committee reiterates that the aim of its examination is to determine whether complainants would personally risk torture in the country to which they would return. It follows that, irrespective of whether a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights can be said to exist in Sri Lanka, such existence would not as such constitute sufficient grounds for determining that the complainants would be in danger of being subjected to torture upon return to Sri Lanka. Additional grounds must be adduced to show that they would be personally at risk. Conversely, the absence of a consistent pattern of gross violations of human rights does not necessarily mean that the complainants cannot be considered to be in danger of being subjected to torture in the specific circumstances of their case. 7.4 As regards the complainants’ personal risk of being subjected to torture at the hands of the Sri Lankan police, the Committee notes their claim that the combined effect their deceased brother’s JVP membership, their efforts to see his death investigated properly, the first complainant’s past torture and the criminal proceedings pending against him, as well as the desertion from the army of the second complainant’s husband and its consequences, would be tantamount to expose them to a high risk of torture upon return to Sri Lanka. It also takes note of the State party’s challenge to the complainants’ credibility, to the authenticity and relevance of the evidence submitted by them, and to their assessment of their personal risk and of the general human rights situation in Sri Lanka. 7.5 Insofar as the first complainant alleges that he was tortured in 1995, the Committee has noted the total absence of any medical evidence which would corroborate this claim. It observes that the burden would have been upon the complainants to present pertinent evidence to that effect. 3 Even assuming that the first complainant was tortured during his detention at Colombo Fort police station, the alleged instances of torture occurred in 1995 and, thus, not in the recent past. 4 Similarly, the political activities and the execution of the first and second complainant’s brother cannot be considered relevant in relation to their nonrefoulement claim, as they date back to 1992. 7.6 The Committee has finally taken note of the copies and translations of the documentary evidence submitted by the complainants, including a bail receipt dated 21 December 1995 for the amount of 10,000 Rupees; a written statement dated 14 July 1998 signed by a warden of Mahara prisons, confirming that the first complainant was detained between 4 July and 22 December 1995; an arrest warrant dated 9 December 1998 aga inst the first complainant for failure to appear in court; his indictment for attempted robbery on 27 June 1995 and the pertinent trial transcript of 2 See Amnesty International, Annual Report 2004: Sri Lanka; Human Rights Watch, World Report 2005: Sri Lanka; U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Sri Lanka, 28 February 2005. 3 See General Comment No. 1: Implementation of article 3 of the Convention in the context of article 22, 21 November 1997, at para. 5. 4 See ibid., at para. 8 (b).