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SRI LANKA: A man is arbitrarily detained and assaulted by Urubokka Police

August 3, 2010



30 July 2010
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SRI LANKA: A man is arbitrarily detained and assaulted by Urubokka Police

ISSUES: Arbitrary detention; police assault
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a man has been beaten and arbitrarily detained by Urubokka police officers. He was hospitalized after the assault, which has caused severe damage to his hearing.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to information from the victim and a local NGO, on 16 May 2010 Samarasinghage Koranelis was visited at home by an officer from Urubokka Police Station at about 5.30pm. He was instructed to report to the station on the 21 May at 10am, regarding a complaint leveled against him by his brother, Dharmadasa Samarasinghe, who we are told had worked at that police station three years earlier.

Koranelis reports that he did so, and before being taken to the investigation room, was verbally abused by a P.C. Dayaratne. The complainant's wife and children were reportedly instructed to leave by a Sub Inspector (SI) Bandupala, on the reasoning that he would not be able to use abusive language in their presence.

Koranelis was accused by his brother of assaulting their mother, though the victim claims that he had not seen in six years. During the questioning the SI reportedly struck him strongly to the head a number of times. P.C. Dayaratne was summoned and told to place Koranelis in a police cell, which he did aggressively, dragging and then punching the victim. Koranelis says that he then lost consciousness in the cell.

The detainee was released after about ten minutes after the intervention of the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Mr. Chandrasena. We are told that he voiced strong concerns that Dharmadasa had fabricated the complaint. The OIC reports that Koranelis' mother had already left a statement with him that refuted the complaint. At 11.30pm the OIC took the necessary statements from all parties and released Koranelis.

Since then the victim has visited Heegoda Government Hospital a number of times, and was warded from the 22 to the 27 May due to ear and headaches. He continues to be treated regularly at the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic at the Matara Government Hospital, and says that he is struggling to work.

Written complaints have been made to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Inspector General of Police, the Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Southern Province, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Matara and the Officer in Charge of UrubokkaPolice Station. We are told that a police inquiry was launched on 3 July 2010 at the officer of the Matara SSP, and that another inquiry started at the officer of the Matara branch of the HRC on 28 of July 2010 (case no HRC/MT/169/10/V). We urge that the investigation be carried out thoroughly and impartially, monitored by officers of a senior rank, and that the police officers proven to have been involved face legal action.

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SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: A man is arbitrarily detained and assaulted by Urubokka Police

Name of victim:
Samarasinghage Koranelis, age 48; a mason. Resident of Thuththiripitiya Hena, Pasgoda, in Matara
Names of perpetrators:
Sub Inspector Bandupala and Constable Dayaratne of Urubokka Police Station, Matara Division, Southern Range
Date of incident: 21 May 2010
Place of incident: Urubokka Police Station, Urubokka.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the beating and arbitrary detention of a man by Urubokka police.

According to information from the victim and a local NGO, on 16 May 2010 Samarasinghage Koranelis was visited at home by an officer from Urubokka Police Station at about 5.30pm. He was instructed to report to the station on the 21 May at 10am, regarding a complaint leveled against him by his brother, Dharmadasa Samarasinghe, who I am told had worked at that police station three years earlier.

Koranelis reports that he did so, and before being taken to the investigation room, was verbally abused by a P.C. Dayaratne. The complainant's wife and children were reportedly instructed to leave by a Sub Inspector (SI) Bandupala, on the reasoning that he would not be able to swear in their presence.

Koranelis was accused by his brother of assaulting their mother, who he claims he had not seen in six years. During the questioning the SI reportedly struck him strongly to the head a number of times. A P.C. Dayaratne was summoned and told to place Koranelis in a police cell, which he did aggressively, dragging and then punching the victim before he was put in the cell. Koranelis says that he then lost consciousness.

The detainee was released after about ten minutes after the intervention of the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Mr. Chandrasena. I am told that he voiced strong concerns that Dharmadasa had fabricated the complaint. The OIC reports that Koranelis' mother had already left a statement with him that refuted the complaint. At 11.30pm Chandrasena took the necessary statements from all parties and released Koranelis.

Since then the victim has visited Heegoda Government Hospital a number of times, and was warded from the 22 to the 27 May due to ear and headaches. He continues to be treated regularly at the Ear Nose and Throat Clinic at the Matara Government Hospital, and says that he is struggling to work.

I understand that written complaints have been made to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Inspector General of Police, the Assistant Superintendent of Police in the Southern Province, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Matara and the Officer in Charge, Urubokka Police Station.
I am pleased to hear that in response a police inquiry was launched on 3 July 2010 at the officer of the Matara SSP, and that another inquiry started at the officer of the Matara branch of the HRC on 28 of July 2010 (case no HRC/MT/169/10/V). However due to the impunity that remains rampant in the Sri Lankan police force I remain skeptical that these investigations will result in the prosecution of the police officers proven to have been involved.

I accordingly urge that the investigation be carried out thoroughly and impartially, monitored by an officer of a senior rank.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

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

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

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

Secretary
Human Rights Commission
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +94 11 2 694 925      end_of_the_skype_highlighting / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

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Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-115-2010
Countries :
Issues :
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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.