''(During 1991)
Hundreds of people were extra judicially executed and
several hundred disappeared. Torture of
detainees was common... In the east of the
country suspected LTTE members were seized, abducted
and killed by men in plain clothes who were believed to
be connected with the security forces. Victims
bodies were left in public places often in a mutiliated
state.
In April (1991) a number of headless bodies were
found in Batticaloa: at least one was accompanied by a
notice claiming responsibility signed by the 'Black
Cobras'. In Trincomalee town dozens of abductions
were carried out be unidentified men believed to be
associated with the army...Muslim Home Guards and armed
members of Tamil groups opposed to the LTTE who
operated alongside government forces were also held
responsible for disappearance and other violations.
Subramaniam Ketheeswaran disappeared after he was taken
from a refugee camp at Bambalapitiya, Colombo in
September by members of the Eelam Peoples Democratic
Party. About ten days later he was taken to an army
camp in Batticaloa and questioned about his involvement
with the LTTE..Detainees in the northeast were
systematically tortured. Victims were beaten, stabbed,
burned and scalded, partailly buried or had nails
driven through the soles of their feet. Dozens of
people reportedly died as a result, reportedly in the
east. - Amnesty International Annual
Report 1992 for the period January to December
1991
