CAT/C/LKA/CO/3-4 cases filed under the PTA the sole evidence relied upon is confessions obtained by an ASP or an officer above that rank The Committee further notes with concern reports documenting individual cases of torture and ill-treatment where the victims were allegedly randomly selected by police to be arrested and detained for what appears to be an unsubstantiated charge and subsequently subjected to torture or ill-treatment to obtain a confession for those charges (art. 2, 11, 15 and 16) The State party should explicitly exclude any evidence obtained as a result of torture and ensure that legislation, including anti-terrorism legislation, concerning evidence to be adduced in judicial proceedings is brought in line with the provisions of article 15 of the Convention. The State party should also ensure that all detainees are asked by the judge whether or not they were ill-treated or tortured in custody. The State party should ensure that judges order independent medical examinations whenever a suspect requires one in court and that prompt and impartial investigations are conducted whenever there is a reason to believe that an act of torture occurred, especially in cases where the sole evidence presented is a confession. The judge should exclude such statements if the suspect so requests in court and the medical examination sustains the claim. Detainees should receive a copy confirming their request for a medical report and a copy of the report itself. Registration of all detainees 12. The Committee notes that according to the State party’s core report, that over the period 2000-2005, more than 80,000 persons were imprisoned annually, of whom more than 60,000 were never convicted. Furthermore, according to the additional written information provided by the State party’s delegation, 765 persons are detained in Sri Lanka under administrative detention orders as of 11 November 2011 but there is no central registry on detentions carried out under the PTA. The Committee recalls with concern that, in response to the Committee’s confidential inquiry under article 20 of the Convention (A/57/44, paras. 123-195), the State party informed it that a computerized central police registry had been established, yet now reveals this has not happened (arts. 2, 11 and 16). The State party should: (a) Ensure that all suspects under criminal investigation are registered promptly from the moment of apprehension and not only upon formal arrest or charging; (b) Establish immediately a central register for all persons in official custody, inter alia, persons in prisons, police stations and “rehabilitation centres”, as well as those detained under the PTA. (c) Publish a list of all detainees and places of detention; Human rights defenders, defence lawyers, journalists and other civil society actors at risk 13. The Committee expresses its concern at reports that human rights defenders, defence lawyers and other civil society actors, including political activists, trade unionists and independent media journalists have been singled out as targets of intimidation, harassment, including death threats and physical attacks and politically motivated charges. It regrets that, in many cases, those allegedly responsible for acts of intimidation and reprisal appear to enjoy impunity. The Committee notes with regret that the State party was unable to provide adequate information on the specific incidents about which the Committee had inquired, including the cases of journalists, such as Poddala Jayantha, Prageeth Eknaligoda and J. S. Tissainayagam, and lawyers, such as J.C. Welliamuna and Amitha Ariyarantne. This resulted in a number of submissions to the Committee by some of the individuals 5

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