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SRI LANKA: A thorough investigation is required in the case of the rape of a minor

September 18, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-210-2008

18 September 2008
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SRI LANKA: A thorough investigation is required in the case of the rape of a minor

ISSUES: Rape; violence against women; corruption
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a minor was raped by two men respectively on different occasions in Sigiriya, Sri Lanka. It is reported that one of the accused had earlier bribed the police to prevent them from bringing his case to court.  Both were released on bail and the mother of the minor is in doubt that a thorough, impartial investigation will be carried out.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the testimony of the victim's mother)

According to information received, on 28 June 2008, Ms. X (name withheld for security reasons) a 14-year-old girl suffering from a mental illness was left in her uncle's house, while her mother attended a funeral. Her uncle left the house, leaving her alone, for about half an hour.

Meanwhile, a man named Palitha, 55, came to the house to hire her uncle, a carpenter, to do some work for him. When he found that Ms.X was alone in the house, he raped her. When her uncle returned, he found that the door and the windows of the house were shut and Ms. X and Palitha were together in a room.

When Ms. X's mother returned that evening, she found out about this incident and immediately lodged a complaint at the Sigiriya Police Station. During the investigation, Ms. X revealed that she was previously raped and sexually assaulted by a neighbour, a retired principal, Gamagedara Kiribanda, 68. The police sent Ms. X to the Sigiriya hospital for examination and the medical report confirmed that she had been raped.

Palitha and Gamagedara Kiribanda were accordingly arrested on June 28 and then released on bail. However, the mother of Ms. X, had information that Gamagedara Kiribanda had arranged a party for the police.  It was also reported that he had been involved in another rape case. This case was not brought before the courts as he had bribed the police. The mother is in doubt that the investigation will be an on-going one.

At the trial on September 11, postponed from August 14, the medical report was presented but postponed to November 13, 2008. Two cases against those accused were filed.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

This is another incident with a high possibility that the police may discontinue the investigation in favor of the suspects. One of the suspects is known to have bribed the police. In contrast, the victim is from a very poor family with no money, no power, or prestige to press the police to get justice for themselves.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka enshrines in Chapter 3 a series of fundamental rights which include that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law. As such, the inquiry into the rape complaint has to be investigated by the Sigiriya police as a fundamental right to which Miss X is entitled.

Both suspects must be given a fair trial and if proved guilty brought to justice. This is not only to ensure justice for Miss X but to prevent other young children from the same fate befalling them. Research has shown that rapists often continue committing crimes of violation and domination, destroying many young lives in the process. In any event, they are to be punished with rehabilitation back into society if feasible.   

Furthermore, if rape is proved, it is noted that the Sri Lankan Penal Code amended in 1995, Section 363 criminalizes rape, and Section 364 specifies the terms of imprisonment and an order of compensation against convicted rapists.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below urging them to look into this investigation and to ensure that the suspects are effectively prosecuted.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence against women calling for an intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: A proper investigation is required in the case of the rape of a minor

Name of victim: Ms. X (name withheld for security reasons) 14-year-old girl with a mental illness; followed classes in a regular school up to grade 10
Name of accused: Palitha (suspect in the rape on 28 July, 2008) Gamagedara Kiribanda (suspect in an earlier incident of rape)
Police station conducting investigation: Sigiriya Police Station, Dambulla Dist., Matele Division, Central Range (West)

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the questionable investigation, in Sigiriya, into the case of the rape of a minor who is mentally ill.

According to information I have received, the minor was left at her uncle's house where she was raped by a man named Palitha on 28 July 2008. This happened when her uncle stepped out of the house for a short time. During an investigation by the Sigiriya police, it was revealed that the minor had also been raped on a previous occasion by a neighbour named Gamadegera Kiribanda.

Sigiriya police arrested both suspects after the mother of Ms.X lodged a complaint but were both subsequently released on bail. It is reported that Gamadegera Kiribanda had previously been accused of rape but escaped prosecution by allegedly bribing the police.
 
Under these circumstances, I urge you to ensure that a thorough and impartial investigation be conducted so that those responsible for the rapes are properly prosecuted and punished according to the law. The victim's mother must be informed of all relevant progress made in the case.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. C.R. De Silva
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk 

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

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

4. 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 

5. Chairperson
National Child Protection Authority
330, Thalawathugoda Road
Madiwela
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 112778912/13/14
Fax: +94 112778975
E-mail: ncpa@childprotection.gov.lk 

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-210-2008
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.