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SRI LANKA: Police assault a three wheeler driver and force him to carry them for free

March 5, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-022-2010



5 March 2010
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SRI LANKA: Police assault a three wheeler driver and force him to carry them for free

ISSUES: Police assault; torture; illegal arrest
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that police in Chilaw illegally arrested, tortured and falsely accused a three-wheeler driver of carrying drugs. After ejecting the passengers, beating the driver and searching the vehicle the officers then forced him to give them a free ride. The man was later hospitalised. After a large demonstration by three wheeler drivers the officer in charge of Chilaw police station announced that the incident was a mistake and promised compensation and the transfer of the perpetrators. Neither action has taken place and a criminal investigation has not been opened despite various complaints having been filed.

CASE DETAILS:

Warnakulasuriya Asanka Peiris, 30, was transporting a couple in his three-wheeled taxi on 14 February 2010 at about 11.20am when another three-wheeler overtook and stopped him. Four men in civil clothing surrounded his vehicle and started to beat him around the head and chest. As his customers left the scene the assailants claimed to be police and told them not to use Asanka's services because he carries drugs.

The men beat and threatened the victim while they illegally searched his vehicle. They then told him to take them to Daduru Oya Tank, which is also against police procedure. When Asanka told them that he was too injured to drive they reportedly threatened to sue him under section 54 of the Anti Drugs Act. At Daduru Oya Tank they disembarked without paying.

The victim went to find his brother and soon began to experience vomiting. He was taken to Chilaw Hospital and examined by a number of doctors, including a judicial medical officer; hospital police took his statement on 15 February. Although he was discharged on 16 February Asanka's symptoms returned again that evening and he spent another night in hospital. His assault by police amounts to torture under Act 22 of 1994.

The case prompted a large scale local protest on 15 February, when approximately three hundred three-wheeler drivers demonstrated in the centre of Chilaw Town. Though the officer in charge of Chilaw police station told the demonstrators that the incident had been a mistake and assured them that the perpetrators would be transferred immediately and that Rs25000 would be paid to the victim in compensation, no such actions have been taken. Identification of only two officers has been possible, of a Mr. Harsha and a Mr. Kumara, with a third identified by his Chilaw station police number 83206; however no information has been released.

The actions of police violated the victim's right to safety, security, movement and livelihood, and involved various illegal actions – including the baseless arrest and torture. A complaint has since been sent to the National Human Rights Commission and was followed with written complaints to the Inspector General of Police, the Deputy Inspector General of North Western Province, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Putalam and the Headquarters Inspector of Chilaw on 24 February. Despite this the victim has not been informed of any further action or the launch of an investigation.

As seen in our past appeals this is one of many incidents of police impunity being reported from across Sri Lanka. Such violations will continue undiminished while the government lacks the political will to tackle the issue and continues to drag its feet on much needed, credible police reforms.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

A simple transfer is not an adequate response to allegations of police assault – which amounts to torture under international and domestic laws. Please write to the authorities listed below reminding them of their obligation to respond with a criminal investigation under act 22 of the 1994 penal code, and to bring any officers proven to have perpetrated violence before the law. Please also request for adequate compensation to be paid to the victim.

The AHRC has written to the Special Rapporteur on the question of torture, informing him of this case.

To support this appeal please click here:

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Police assault a three wheeler driver and force him to carry them for free

Name of victim:
Warnakulasuriya Asanka Peiris, 30; resident of No.11/14 B Ratna Uyana Chilaw and a three wheel taxi driver by profession.
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Harsha
2. Mr. Kumara
3. Officer no. 83206
All officers of Chilaw Police station, Chilaw Division, North Western Range; full names and ranks unknown.

Date of incident: 14 February 2010
Place of incident: Near Chilaw Railway Gate Puttalam Rd, Chilaw

I am deeply concerned to hear that police in Chilaw illegally and baselessly arrested, tortured and falsely accused a three-wheeler driver of carrying drugs.

According to the information I have received Warnakulasuriya Asanka Peiris was transporting a couple in his three-wheel taxi on 14 February 2010 when another three-wheeler overtook and stopped him. Four men in civil clothing surrounded his vehicle and started to beat him around the head and chest. As his customers left the scene the assailants claimed to be police and told them not to use Mr. Peiris' services because he carries drugs.

The men beat and threatened the victim while they illegally searched his vehicle. They then told him to take them to Daduru Oya Tank, which is also against police procedure. When Mr. Peiris told them that he was too injured to drive they reportedly threatened to sue him under section 54 of the Anti Drugs Act. At Daduru Oya Tank they disembarked without paying.

The victim soon began to experience vomiting and was taken to Chilaw Hospital and examined by a number of doctors, including a judicial medical officer; hospital police took his statement on 15 February. Although he was discharged on 16 February Mr. Peiris symptoms returned again that evening and he spent another night in hospital. As you are certainly aware, his assault by police amounts to torture under Act 22 of 1994.

The case prompted a large scale local protest on 15 February, when approximately three hundred three-wheeler drivers demonstrated in the centre of Chilaw Town. Though the officer in charge of Chilaw police station told the demonstrators that the incident had been a mistake and assured them that the perpetrators would be transferred immediately and that Rs25000 would be paid to the victim in compensation, these actions have not happened.

The actions of police violated the victim's right to safety, security, movement and livelihood, and involved various illegal actions – including the baseless arrest and torture. Though a complaint has been sent to the National Human Rights Commission and to the Inspector General of Police, the Deputy Inspector General of North Western Province, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Putalam and the Headquarters Inspector of Chilaw on 24 February, the victim has not been informed of any further action or the launch of an investigation.

As I am sure you are aware, a simple transfer is not an adequate response to allegations of police assault – which amounts to torture under international and domestic laws, and which in this case hospitalised a man. This is one of many incidents of police impunity being reported from across Sri Lanka. Such violations will continue undiminished while the government lacks the political will to tackle the issue and continues to drag its feet on much needed, credible police reforms.

I would like to remind the relevant authorities of their obligation to respond with a criminal investigation under act 22, and to bring any officers proven to have perpetrated violence before the law. I also urge you to intervene to ensure that adequate compensation is paid to the victim.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

Mr. Mahinda Balasuriya
Inspector General of Police (IGP),
New Secretariat,
Colombo 1,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440
Email: igp@police.lk

Mr. Mohan Peiris
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department,
Colombo 12,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421

Secretary,
National Police Commission,
3rd Floor Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road,
Colombo 03,
SRI LANKA
Tel/Fax: +94 11 2 395960
Email: polcom@sltnet.lk

Secretary,
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka,
No 108 Barnes Place,
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
Email: sechrc@sltnet.lk

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP)
Office of the Senior Superintendant of Police
Chilaw
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 32 2222925
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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-022-2010
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.