Investigation sought on Sri Lanka abuses

GENEVA — Sri Lanka’s government faced increasing pressure Friday to answer for alleged human rights violations after an Associated Press investigation that found more than 50 men who said they were raped, branded or tortured as recently as this year.

The men’s anguished descriptions of their abuses come nearly a decade after Sri Lanka’s civil war ended and days ahead of a review of the Indian Ocean nation by the U.N.’s top human rights body.

Doctors, psychologists, lawmakers and rights groups have appealed to the United Nations to investigate the new allegations published by The Associated Press on Wednesday. The AP reviewed 32 medical and psychological evaluations and interviewed 20 men who said they were accused of trying to revive a rebel group on the losing side of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war.

All the men are members of the country’s Tamil ethnic minority.

Although combat ended in 2009, they say the torture and abuse occurred from early 2016 to as recently as July of this year.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the top ranking Democrat on the subcommittee that oversees U.S. foreign aid, said the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee has made aid to the government conditional on its compliance with international standards for arrest and detention, as well as accountability for war crimes.

Sri Lanka has received $76 million in U.S. foreign assistance since 2015.

“These accounts of torture are horrific and contradict the Sri Lankan government’s professed commitment to reconciliation and justice,” Leahy said, adding, “I will be looking for convincing evidence that torture has ended and those responsible are being punished.”

Several doctors wrote to U.N. Human Rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein and called for an independent investigation.

“As forensic experts, we have collectively seen many hundreds of Sri Lankans who have fled their country following torture over the years,” the physicians’ letter said. “We continue to receive a worrying number of cases from Sri Lanka despite the change of government.”

Sri Lanka has received $76 million in U.S. foreign assistance since 2015.