Beranda / News / Urgent Appeals / SRI LANKA: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police

SRI LANKA: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police

January 19, 2012

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-003-2012



19 January 2012
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SRI LANKA: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police

ISSUES: Illegal arrest; arbitrary detention; torture; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

Mr. Narahenpita Gamage Sisil Weerasinghe (48), a retired soldier was illegally arrested, detained and severely tortured by officers attached to the Wattala Police Station. Sisil had been waiting for a bus to take him home at around 10 pm when the officers accused him of planning to rob a house in the area. When he denied that they started beating him. They then took him to the Wattala Police Station where they continued to torture him. The ill-treatment resulted in his hospitalisation for a broken hand. He was falsely charged with indecent behaviour and fined Rs. 1,500/=.

Sisil at no time obstructed or threatened the officers but instead voluntarily gave them all the information they requested. Their illegal action was no doubt the result of their desire to boost their standing with the OIC of the station. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission Mr. Narahenpita Gamage Sisil Weerasinghe (48) is married, the father of two daughters and a retired soldier. Sisil, who resides at No: 212/1, Woodland Estate, Colombo Road, Chilaw is disabled as the result of injuries to the right leg and hand in a battle during July 1992. Following his partial recovery Sisil was removed from operational duties and given light duties. He retired from the service in 2007 and later worked as a private security guard attached to the Peoples Bank.

On 30 December 2011, he was working at the People's Bank branch at the Headquarters of Island Revenue Department at Fort, Colombo. On this particular day after completing his work he was on his way home by bus. Then as he felt a stomachache he informed the conductor and asked him to stop the bus. He alighted from the bus and went to a nearby for toilet after which he waited for another bus to continue to his home.

While he was waiting a red colour three-wheeler came and stopped in front of him. Then the persons who were in police uniforms asked him what he was waiting at the roadside for at that time (by this time it was close to 10 pm). Then Sisil explained what had happened to him and told the officers that he is waiting for a bus. The police officers accused him of planning to commit to a house breaking. Sisil explained to them that he was a former soldier of the Sri Lanka Army, that he was disabled and presently working at the Peoples Bank Security Section at the Island Revenue Department Branch. However, the officers did not accept his explanation, accused him of arguing with them and started to beat him with fists and boots. The officers then dragged him into the three-wheeler and brought him to the Wattala Police Station.

At the police station again three police officers including a police officer who was later identified as Mr. Mahinda started to beat him with a cricket bat. Another officer beat him with a plastic pipe that had been filled with sand. Sisil was assaulted all over his body and pleaded with the officers not to beat him. He repeatedly explained that he was a disable soldier but the officers did not listen. Even after Sisil fell to the ground the officers continued to beat Sisil mercilessly. Later they locked him in a cell.

As Sisil was suffering immense pain he pleaded with the officers to provide medicine. They then took him out from the cell and brought him before a doctor. Before he was brought into the doctor two officers held his arms while another officer forcefully poured liquor into his mouth. Sisil tried to resist but the officers forced him. Then he was brought before the doctor. Then Sisil explained to the doctor in the presence of the perpetrators how he was tortured in police custody. He further told the doctor that due to the assault one of his hands was fractured and that he was experiencing enormous pain. However, to his amazement the doctor ignore him and did not provide any treatment or medicine.

Later Sisil was returned to the police station and put back in the cell. When he started to screaming with pain one of the officers gave him two tablets but he did not know what it was.

Later in the morning on 31 Sisil was asked to sign a document but he refused. He further explained that he cannot read without his spectacles. The officers told him that if he signed and pleaded guilty at court he could go home and get treatment. He then signed the document and was brought to the Wattala Magistrate's Court. The police officers who tortured him were present in the court and they stood close to Sisil while he was produced before the Magistrate. Sisil did as he was instructed and pleaded guilty. He later learned that he had been charged with indecent behaviour due to being inebriated. He was then fined Rs. 1,500/=. Sisil vehemently denies the accusation and states that as he was in severe pain and in fear of further torture by the perpetrators who never once left his side. He therefore states that he had no option but to plead guilty to the charge.

Sisil went home and received treatment from a doctor. Though the doctor provided medicine by 2 January, 2012 Sisil's condition worsened. He was admitted to the Chilaw Base Hospital for treatment by his family members. While he was treated at the hospital the doctors revealed to him that there is a fracture in his hand. The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) examined him and recorded his situation. The officers attached to the Police Post of the Hospital also recorded his statement. On 4 January he was discharged but he was asked to return to the clinic for further treatment.

Sisil states that he was illegally arrested, detained, severely tortured and maliciously prosecuted. He states that his fundamental rights were violated by the police officers attached to the Wattala Police Station.

After he was discharge from the hospital Sisil complained to the Human Rights Commission, Inspector General of Police, Attorney General, the Director of Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police of the Western Province (North) and the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Wattala Police Station. To-date none of these authorities have responded to him nor investigated his complaint.





ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of torturing innocent by the Sri Lankan police which are illegal under international and local law which have taken place at different Police Station in the country over the past few years.

The State of Sri Lanka sign and ratified the CAT on 3 January 1994. Following state obligations Sri Lanka adopted Act number 22 of 1994 the law adopted by the Sri Lankan parliament making torture a crime that can be punishable for minimum seven years and not less than ten years on being proven guilty. The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is suppose to file indictments in the case where credible evidence were found on torturing people by state officers.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, illegal detention, torturing by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of a state. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department. Further, please also request the NPC and the IGP to have a special investigation into the malpractices of the police officers for abusing the state officers' powers.

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on this regard.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ________,

SRI LANKA: An innocent man is illegally arrested, tortured and laid with a false charge by the Wattala Police

Name of the victim: Mr. Narahenpita Gamage Sisil Weerasinghe(48) is resides at No: 212/1, Woodland Estate, Colombo Road, Chilaw
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Police officer Mr. Mahinda attached to the Police Station of Wattala
2. Two other police officers attached to the Police Station of Wattala
Date of incident: 30 December 2011
Place of incident: Wattala Police Station

I am writing to express my serious concern over the case of Mr. Narahenpita Gamage Sisil Weerasinghe (48). Sisil is married, the father of two daughters and a retired soldier. Sisil, who resides at No: 212/1, Woodland Estate, Colombo Road, Chilaw is disabled as the result of injuries to the right leg and hand in a battle during July 1992. Following his partial recovery Sisil was removed from operational duties and given light duties. He retired from the service in 2007 and later worked as a private security guard attached to the Peoples Bank.

On 30 December 2011, he was working at the People's Bank branch at the Headquarters of Island Revenue Department at Fort, Colombo. On this particular day after completing his work he was on his way home by bus. Then as he felt a stomachache he informed the conductor and asked him to stop the bus. He alighted from the bus and went to a nearby for toilet after which he waited for another bus to continue to his home.

While he was waiting a red colour three-wheeler came and stopped in front of him. Then the persons who were in police uniforms asked him what he was waiting at the roadside for at that time (by this time it was close to 10 pm). Then Sisil explained what had happened to him and told the officers that he is waiting for a bus. The police officers accused him of planning to commit to a house breaking. Sisil explained to them that he was a former soldier of the Sri Lanka Army, that he was disabled and presently working at the Peoples Bank Security Section at the Island Revenue Department Branch. However, the officers did not accept his explanation, accused him of arguing with them and started to beat him with fists and boots. The officers then dragged him into the three-wheeler and brought him to the Wattala Police Station.

At the police station again three police officers including a police officer who was later identified as Mr. Mahinda started to beat him with a cricket bat. Another officer beat him with a plastic pipe that had been filled with sand. Sisil was assaulted all over his body and pleaded with the officers not to beat him. He repeatedly explained that he was a disable soldier but the officers did not listen. Even after Sisil fell to the ground the officers continued to beat Sisil mercilessly. Later they locked him in a cell.

As Sisil was suffering immense pain he pleaded with the officers to provide medicine. They then took him out from the cell and brought him before a doctor. Before he was brought into the doctor two officers held his arms while another officer forcefully poured liquor into his mouth. Sisil tried to resist but the officers forced him. Then he was brought before the doctor. Then Sisil explained to the doctor in the presence of the perpetrators how he was tortured in police custody. He further told the doctor that due to the assault one of his hands was fractured and that he was experiencing enormous pain. However, to his amazement the doctor ignore him and did not provide any treatment or medicine.

Later Sisil was returned to the police station and put back in the cell. When he started to screaming with pain one of the officers gave him two tablets but he did not know what it was.

Later in the morning on 31 Sisil was asked to sign a document but he refused. He further explained that he cannot read without his spectacles. The officers told him that if he signed and pleaded guilty at court he could go home and get treatment. He then signed the document and was brought to the Wattala Magistrate's Court. The police officers who tortured him were present in the court and they stood close to Sisil while he was produced before the Magistrate. Sisil did as he was instructed and pleaded guilty. He later learned that he had been charged with indecent behaviour due to being inebriated. He was then fined Rs. 1,500/=. Sisil vehemently denies the accusation and states that as he was in severe pain and in fear of further torture by the perpetrators who never once left his side. He therefore states that he had no option but to plead guilty to the charge.

Sisil went home and received treatment from a doctor. Though the doctor provided medicine by 2 January, 2012 Sisil's condition worsened. He was admitted to the Chilaw Base Hospital for treatment by his family members. While he was treated at the hospital the doctors revealed to him that there is a fracture in his hand. The Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) examined him and recorded his situation. The officers attached to the Police Post of the Hospital also recorded his statement. On 4 January he was discharged but he was asked to return to the clinic for further treatment.

Sisil states that he was illegally arrested, detained, severely tortured and maliciously prosecuted. He states that his fundamental rights were violated by the police officers attached to the Wattala Police Station.

After he was discharge from the hospital Sisil complained to the Human Rights Commission, Inspector General of Police, Attorney General, the Director of Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police, Senior Superintendent of Police of the Western Province (North) and the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Wattala Police Station. To-date none of these authorities have responded to him nor investigated his complaint.
I request your urgent intervention to ensure that the authorities listed below instigate an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, illegal detention, torture by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of state officers and for wrongful prosecution. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. N K Illangakoon
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

2. Ms. Eva Wanasundara
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

3. The Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk

4. The Secretary
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
No. 108
Barnes Place
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +9411 2694925, +9411 2685980, +9411 2685981
Fax: +9411 2694924 (General) +94112696470 (Chairman)
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-003-2012
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.