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SRI LANKA: Nawalapitiya police illegally arrest a man and fabricate evidence against him

November 24, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-160-2009



24 November 2009
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SRI LANKA: Nawalapitiya police illegally arrest a man and fabricate evidence against him

ISSUES: Administration of justice; fabricated charges; torture
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has been informed that police in Nawalapitiya have arbitrarily arrested a man, beaten him and created evidence to use in the framing of charges against him. He will appear before a magistrate on 25 November 2009.

CASE DETAILS:

According to the information we have received, on the 19 November 2009 Joseph Fonifelius, 44, visited a shop close to his home at around 9am to buy cigarettes for his father. He arrived to find police raiding the shop for illegal alcohol. Though there was no evidence to suggest his involvement, police quickly arrested him on charges of 'spying' while still outside of the shop. They reportedly threatened and slapped him and forced him into a jeep, along with the shop owner and his brother, Aloysius and Felix.

Police officers continued to breach procedure and break the law at Nawalapitiya Police Station, where Joseph was told to sign documents he had not read. He resisted, and says that he was threatened with a fake firearms charge, which is non-bailable. He informs us that his fingerprints were then affixed to a bottle of illicit liquor, after which he was detained in a police cell. He has still not been told of the charges against him, as required by the Sri Lankan constitution and police code. He was released on police bail at approximately 3pm and told to appear before the Nawalapitiya magistrate on the 25 November 2009.

By abandoning police procedure, officers have violated Joseph's right to be protected from unlawful arrest and detainment, and to a fair trial, as guaranteed under article 13, paragraphs 1 to 6 of the Sri Lanka's constitution (PDF) as well as article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

As often documented by the AHRC, police actions in Sri Lanka continue to show a disregard for legal procedure, which is in place to protect civilians and prevent officers from following personal agendas. Arbitrary arrests undermine civilian respect for the law and law enforcement agencies. The current brand of police conduct and investigation is commonly unprofessional, arbitrary and violent, and it leaves room for corruption and exploitation. In this case the victim is worried about his reputation and about further police harassment; he supports three children, a mother with cancer and an ill father.

It should also be noted that the Nawalpitya police have featured in a number of AHRC urgent appeals on torture and false charges, including UAC-034-2009, UAC-130-2008 and UA-284-2007, which suggests that the weakness is institutional, and that the appropriate checks and balances are not in place. Review and reform is urgently needed. The AHRC urges the National Police Commission to look into the operation of police at Nawalpitya police station, and the government to appoint a team of Supreme Court Judges to thoroughly inquire into the general breakdown of discipline within the police in the country.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below asking for their intervention into this case, and call on the National Police Commission to investigate the operation of the Nawalapitiya police, and instigate reforms.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Nawalapitiya police illegally arrest a man and fabricate evidence against him

Name of victim: Joseph Fonifelius, 44, Bohill Estate Katabula, Nawalapitiya.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Police attached to the Nawalapitiya police station, Gampola Division, Central Range (West).
Date of incident: 19 November 2009
Place of incident: Nawalapitiya

I am writing to voice my concern regarding the alleged arbitrarily arrest, beating and fabrication of charges against Joseph Fonifelius by Nawalapitiya police.

According to the information I have received Mr. Fonifelius was visiting a shop close to his home early one morning to buy cigarettes. Before he could enter the shop he was arrested by police officers, who accused him of 'spying', threatened and slapped him and forced him into a jeep. He was arrested along with the shop owner and his brother, called Aloysius and Felix.

Police officers continued to breach procedure and break the law at Nawalapitiya Police Station, where Mr. Fonifelius was told to sign documents he had not read, and was threatened with a fake firearms charge. I am told that his fingerprints were affixed to a bottle of illicit liquor, after which he was detained in a police cell. Mr. Fonifelius has still not been told of the charges against him, as required by the Sri Lankan constitution and police code. He was released on police bail later that afternoon and told to appear before the Nawalapitiya magistrate on the 25 November 2009.

By abandoning police procedure, officers at Nawalapitiya Police Station have violated Mr. Fonifelius' right to be protected from unlawful arrest and detainment, and to a fair trial, as guaranteed under article 13 (1) and 14 of the Sri Lanka's constitution as well as article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a state party. They have also damaged his reputation and the victim has valid concerns about further police harassment; he supports three children, a mother with cancer and an ill father.

I'm aware that the Nawalpitya police have faced allegations for human rights violations in the past, and call for a thorough investigation into the operation of the police station by the National Police Commission. I also take this opportunity to urge the government to appoint a team of Supreme Court Judges for a much-needed inquiry into the general breakdown of discipline within the police in Sri Lanka.

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 440440/327877;
E-mail: igp@police.lk

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

Registrar of the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Superior Courts Complex,
Colombo-12,
SRI LANKA
Telephone: +94-1-435446.
Fax: +94-1-320785/435446/112 437534

Secretary, National Police Commission,
3rd Floor Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03,
SRI LANKA
Tel/Fax: +94 11 2 395960
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or 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
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

Senior Superintendent of Police
Office of the Senior Superintendant of Police
Colombo North Division
SRI LANKA
Fax and tel: +94 11 2432524

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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-160-2009
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.