By Swaminathan Natarajan BBC Tamil

A pedestrian walks past a giant billboard of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Galle Face promenade in Colombo

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has capitalised politically on last year’s military victory over the Tamil Tigers

Hundreds of Tamils detained for years on charges of helping the Tamil Tigers have asked Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to show mercy or grant them a trial.

The detainees were arrested under prevention of terrorism legislation introduced as a temporary law in 1979 and made permanent two years later.

Under the act, suspects can be held for up to 18 months without charge or trial.

But some detainees have spent more than 10 years in jail, with cases still pending in courts.

Human rights activists say more than 650 Tamils, including about 50 women, are suspended in legal limbo in Sri Lankan jails.

A few of the detainees, whom the BBC interviewed by phone, said they want the president to look into their plight.

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