Three doctors accused of helping Tamil rebels released on bail

Colombo - Three of five doctors accused of spreading Tamil rebel propaganda about civilian casualties during the army's final offensive against the separatists in May were released Monday on bail in Sri Lanka, court officials said.

The doctors were captured after they fled rebel-held areas in north-eastern Sri Lanka a few days before the army defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). They were interrogated and charged with spreading false information.
The physicians treated civilians during the last few months of the conflict and provided details of the offensive and war casualties.
They were a main source of information for journalists and were also quoted in reports by international organizations, including the United Nations and human rights groups, such as Amnesty International.
Soon after their capture, the medics said at a government-arranged press conference that they were forced to provide false information by the rebels. The doctors released on bail were identified as Kanapathipillai Shanmugaraja, Illancheliyan Vallavan and Thurairaja Varatharaja.
The security forces were questioning a large number of people, including government officials and civilians, about possible links with the LTTE, which had fought for 26 years for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil ethnic minority.
According to UN figures, more than 7,500 civilians perished from January until May 18 when the conflict ended with the deaths of the top rebel leadership.