CAT/C/32/D/182/2001 Page 5 3.3 By 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. 3.4 The 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. 3.5 The 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. 3.6 The 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. 3.7 The 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: 4.1 On 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. 4.2 The 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 a 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. 4.3 While 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