Thaindian News

London, July 16 (ANI): Former Tamil Tiger rebels detained in Sri Lanka have revealed that they have been “ill-treated, tortured and beaten” in government camps and deprived them of basic facilities.

According to the BBC, they accused camp guards of being corrupt and demanding bribes before releasing detainees.

“Military officers often call us dogs, even if we don’t shave for a day we are beaten up badly,” said one of the letters, which is written by a detainee being held at a Tamil school in Vavuniya.

The letter further reads that on being refused to give money to the military officers, the detainees were threatened to be sent to Boossa prison.

“We don’t know whether we will be released or… shot,” BBC quoted another letter.

The report has also estimated that around 10,000 Tamil Tigers either surrendered or were captured at the end of the war, many of them remain confined.

Some of the camps are located in military bases, others in schools and colleges.

However, the government has been saying that all those being held in custody following the end of the war are being well cared for, and consistently refused to allow any kind of independent investigation into allegations of human rights abuses in the final weeks leading up to the end of the war in May 2009.

“I have visited Jaffna, Killinochi and Vavuniya where I met many people - including wives and relatives of the detainees, no one made any complaints to me ” Rehabilitation Minister DEW Gunasekera said.

“Instead of writing letters to the BBC in London, ask them to write to me and I will look into it,” he added.

He further said that 3,000 people had been released from the camps last year. However, 8,000 former rebels including 600 women and 1,300 men classified as “hardcore fighters” are still in custody. (ANI)