The three doctors and the medical superintendent, who had worked in the safe zone in Mullaitivu till the last days of the conflict and who were later arrested and detained by CID, allegedly for giving pro-LTTE statements were released on a conditional personal bail today by the Colombo Chief Magistrate.
The doctors were ordered to appear before the Vavuniya CID every last Sunday of the month. They were given bail after it was established that they had made their statements while in the Wanni following pressure by the LTTE.
The doctors were captured while they were fleeing from the conflict zone in north-eastern Sri Lanka a few days before the conflict ended. They were interrogated and charged with spreading false information.
The physicians were praised by UN for their service to civilians in a very tiring situation during the last few months of the conflict.
They provided details of the offensive and war casualties and 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.
The doctors after being incommunicado in the detention of CID for over two months, said at a government-arranged press conference that they were forced to provide false information by the rebels.
