A/HRC/13/42* page 102 200. Responding to questions raised during the universal periodic review process in May 2008, the Attorney General of Sri Lanka stated that, notwithstanding the serious nature of the security situation prevailing in Sri Lanka resulting from a reign of terror unleashed by the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world, the LTTE, it was not the policy of the State to adopt and enforce extraordinary measures outside the framework of the law. He stressed that the Government steadfastly insisted that all agents of the State should necessarily carry out arrests, detentions and investigations, including interrogations, in accordance with the due process of the law. With regard to allegations of a pattern of disappearances, the Government was studying credible reports to identify the magnitude of the problem and the possible identities of perpetrators. The Attorney General assured the Human Rights Council that it was not the policy of the State to illegally and surreptitiously arrest persons and detain them in undisclosed locations.397 201. Since the Government announced its victory over the LTTE in May 2009, reports have drawn attention to the detention of more than 10,000 persons suspected of having been involved with the LTTE. Human Rights Watch reported that it documented several cases in which individuals had been taken into custody without regard for the protection provided under Sri Lankan law. In many cases, the authorities had not informed family members about the whereabouts of the detained, leaving them in secret, incommunicado detention or possible enforced disappearance.398 ICRC was reportedly barred from the main detention camps for displaced persons.398 Amnesty International expressed the same concern about an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 individuals suspected of ties to the LTTE, who are or have been detained incommunicado in irregular detention facilities operated by the Sri Lankan security forces and affiliated paramilitary groups since May 2009.399 B. Central Asia 202. The experts gathered information on cases of secret detention in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 1. Turkmenistan 203. As documented by a range of international organizations, including the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and non-governmental organizations, there are persistent allegations that several persons accused of an assassination attempt on former President Niyazov in November 2002 have since then been held in secret 397 A/HRC/8/46, paras. 51-52. 398 Human Rights Watch, “Sri Lanka: world leaders should demand end to detention camps”, 22 September 2009, available from www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/09/22/sri-lanka-world-leadersshould-demand-end-detention-camps. 399 Amnesty International, “Sri Lankan army clashes with detainees”, 24 September 2009. Available from www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/sri-lankan-army-clashesdetainees-20090924.