Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission is extremely concerned that, more than eight months since the mysterious death of a 24-year-old woman, no investigation has been opened, and requests to exhume the body for a post mortem have not been entertained. The young woman’s underprivileged mother has repeatedly appealed to the authorities to have it looked into. A Galle magistrate asked for a report at the beginning of the year but has not since followed up on the case, and no response has been received from the office of the Chief Justice. Please write to urge due judicial attention to the case, noting that the longer it takes, the more compromised any medical evidence will be.
UPDATED DETAILS:
R.G. Malini has repeatedly attempted to have the circumstances of her daughter’s death criminally investigated since September 2009, yet no follow up action has been taken by the relevant court. A court order is necessary for the girl’s body to be exhumed, and the investigation started.
As you can read in our original appeal UAC-174-2010, Malini was told that her daughter died of an unspecified sickness while in the service of her foster family, but she has not been able to find out anything further. She claims that her daughter, Vajira, had been reporting ill treatment at the residence for years.
After the police initially refused to file her complaint, no attempt has been made to look at or preserve the medical evidence. After the urgent appeal was forwarded to the Galle Magistrate’s Court in December 2009, with an exhumation request, a magistrate asked for Malini to file and send an affidavit. This was done within the month, and sent against in March as a reminder, but no further response has been given. The local NGO involved in the case has also written directly to the Chief Justice, and received no reply. It is important to note that any medical evidence will be compromised over time, reducing the likelihood of a successful investigation. The mother, who is a domestic helper with little means or formal education, reports feeling too scared to visit the court at present in an action against her daughter’s former minders; she is being helped by her employer.
There has also been no investigation done into the legal status under which Vajira lived as a minor with her foster family, for whom she reportedly worked. As noted in our appeal, Sri Lanka has obligations under the Conventions of the Rights of the Child which it ratified in 1991. There has also been no action taken against the officers who illegally refused to file the woman’s complaint, denying her right to access the law.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please join us in urging that this case be taken up without further delay.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ——————–,
SRI LANKA: A magistrate neglects an exhumation request for six months in a case of suspicious death
Name of victim:
1. Vajira Kumari, 24, deceased
2. Ms. Malini, her mother
Negligent officials:
Officers attached to Galle Police Station, Galle Division, Southern Range
Galle Magistrate
Date of incident: 19 September 2009
Place of incident: Osanagoda, Maha Modara, Galle
I worried to hear that, more than eight months since the mysterious death of a 24-year-old woman, no investigation has been opened, and requests to exhume the body for a post mortem have not been entertained.
I understand that R.G. Malini has repeatedly attempted to have the circumstances of her daughter’s death criminally investigated since September 2009, yet no follow up action has been taken by the relevant court. A court order is currently necessary for the girl’s body to be exhumed, and the investigation started.
In 2009 Ms. Malini was told that her daughter had died of an unspecified sickness while in the service of her foster family, but she has not been able to find out anything further. She claims that her daughter, Vajira, had been reporting ill treatment at the residence for years.
After the police initially and illegally refused to file her complaint, I understand that no attempt has been made to look at or preserve the medical evidence. After the urgent appeal was forwarded to the Galle Magistrate’s Court in December 2009, with an exhumation request, a magistrate asked for Ms. Malini to file and send an affidavit. This was done within the month, and sent against in March as a reminder, but no further response has been given. The local NGO involved in the case has also written directly to the Chief Justice, and received no reply. It is important to note that any medical evidence will be compromised over time, reducing the likelihood of a successful investigation. The mother, who is a domestic helper with little means or formal education, reports feeling too scared to visit the court at present in an action against her daughter’s former minders; she is being helped by her employer.
There has also been no investigation done into the legal status under which Vajira lived as a minor with her foster family, for whom she reportedly worked. As noted in our appeal, Sri Lanka has obligations under the Conventions of the Rights of the Child which it ratified in 1991.
I also request that the negligent actions of Galle police be thoroughly looked into, in a bid to understand the extent to which the Sri Lankan system is inaccessible to those without financial means or formal education.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Mahinda Balasuriya
Inspector General of Police (IGP),
New Secretariat,
Colombo 1,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440
E-mail: igp@police.lk
2. Mr. Mohan Peiris
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department,
Colombo 12,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
3. Secretary, National Police Commission,
3rd Floor Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road,
Colombo 03,
SRI LANKA
Tel/Fax: +94 11 2 395960
E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
4. 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
5. The Magistrate
Magistrate Court
Fort
Galle
SRI LANKA
6. Chief Justice,
Office of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Superior Courts Complex,
Colombo-12,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94-11-2437534
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
