Confession faked says lawyer

[TamilNet, Saturday, 05 June 1999, 22:21 GMT]
Copies of a statement taken from a Tamil youth detained under Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which were submitted in Colombo High court today by the prosecution were found to contain many details which were not in the original.

The discrepancies were brought to the notice of the Hight Court Judge, Dudley Karunaratne, by the youth's lawyer, Anton Punithanayakam.

The youth, Thangavelu Subramanium, of Vevekanantha hill, Colombo was arrested on February 19, 1998. The case was taken up for the hearing today.

The judge has ordered the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of the Counter Subversive Unit (CSU) to submit a report on the matter.

He has also ordered the officials involved to appear in the courts. The case has been adjourned to June 29.

A suspect's confession, a statement by the officer who records the statement and the typist who takes down the confession, are adequate to secure a conviction under the PTA, said legal sources.