Fifteen said held without charge

[TamilNet, Monday, 03 August 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Fifteen persons from Kilinochchi are detained in a house near the Jaffna Kachcheri for no known offence, said sources in Jaffna. They are said to be workers from a coconut estate in Kilinochchi who were arrested by the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and brought to Jaffna four months ago.

They have not been informed of their offence, but are denied the freedom of movement in Jaffna, said sources.

The SLA visits them off and on, but they cannot escape because without a security pass they are liable to be arrested at the first military checkpoint they encounter, with serious consequences.

They are provided with meals by the Provincial Ministry of Relief and Rehabilitation, but nothing else - not even basic essentials said sources.

The SLA, after bringing areas of Sri Lanka's north under its control, has been known to arbitrarily arrest persons on whom it cannot pin any specific offence and remove them to places far from home and keep them there for months on end, said sources.