Home / News / Urgent Appeals / UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Torture victim shot dead while seeking justice

UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Torture victim shot dead while seeking justice

September 24, 2008

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAU-057-2008

24 September 2008

[RE: AHRC-UAC-141-2008: SRI LANKA: Men with police backing threaten petitioners to withdraw their case]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SRI LANKA: Torture victim shot dead while seeking justice

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killing; torture victim; corruption; witness protection
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) regrets to inform you that a torture victim as well as a complainant in a bribery case against the police was assassinated by unidentified gunmen while driving with his son on 20 September 2008. Before this assassination took place, the victim had repeatedly asked relevant authorities for protection for his family. However, his requests were ignored.

UPDATE INFORMATION:

Mr. Siyaguna Kosgodage Anton Sugath Nishantha Fernando,who was a complainant in a torture case before the Supreme Court (Case No. SCFR. 446/07) and a bribery case before the High Court (Case No. Bribery/1658/2006) against several police officers attached to the Negombo Police Station. On 23 June 2008, four men hired by the police threatened to kill his family unless Nishantha Fernando withdrew the case pending in the Supreme Court. The victim had filed this case in the Paliyagoda Criminal Division (Case No. SIIB 345/266) on the same day. (Please refer to AHRC-UAC-141-2008)

According to detailed information received, about 10am on September 20, Nishantha Fernando was driving his van with his 11-year-old son. Two persons on a motorbike came from behind and shot him at the Dalupotha junction, Negombo. A witness said that one assassin fell from the motorbike but managed to remount and they fled towards Chilaw. Nishantha was rushed to the Negombo hospital where he was pronounced dead. Fortunately his son was unharmed.

After the death of Fernando, his widow stated that they have no other suspects except the police officers against whom her husband was pursuing two cases of bribery and a fundamental rights case regarding torture. The government has not taken any steps to remove from the area those police officers named as accused and respondents in the two cases.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the respondents in the Supreme Court case are: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Premasiri Vithanage, SSP's Office Negombo; Superintendent of Police, Mahanama, SSP's Office Negombo; Somarsiri Liyanage, Officer-in-Charge, Head Quarters, Police Station, Negombo; Inspector of Police Priyadarshana, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Subasinghe, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Bandara, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Silva, Negombo Police Station; Sub Inspector Abeynayake, Negombo Police Station; Sub Inspector Rohana, Negombo Police Station; PC Leelasena, 19999, Negombo Police Station; PC Nihal, 51750, Negombo Police Station and Sergeant Silva, Negombo Police Station. The accused in the bribery case is Inspector of Police, Mahagamage Dhamadasa.

The AHRC is of the opinion that a competent, independent authority should be set up to investigate the death of Nishantha Fernando since several police officers attached to the Negombo Police Station are involved in the torture case.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Judging from previous experience, the AHRC has reason to believe that there will be an attempt to cover up this case and to create the impression that inquires are taking place while, in fact, perpetrators directly or indirectly are given impunity.

For further details and an analysis of this case, please refer to statements:

AHRC-STM-246-2008: SRI LANKA: Another complainant in a torture case shot dead

AHRC-OLT-022-2008: SRI LANKA: A man who sought your protection against death threats from police officers in Negombo was shot dead yesterday

AHRC-STM-247-2008: SRI LANKA: The government and the state media is silent about the murder of the complainant in a bribery and a torture case

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

A proper mechanism to protect witnesses or victims in cases where the police are perpetrators of crimes does not exist in Sri Lanka. A bill called 'Assistance and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses' was introduced into the Parliament on 18 June 2008 and is under consideration. However, concerns remain about the bill due to the lack of protection for the victims of crimes committed by law enforcement agencies and/or people hired by them.

This incident is just a mirror of what is happening today in Sri Lanka. It began with the soliciting of a bribe, to the torture of a whole family, to the making of death threats. The lives of ordinary people are constantly disturbed by these types of threats.  Complaints made to state agencies produce little if any change in the situation. The case of the death of Gerald Perera is indicative. A police officer who gave a statement at an early stage at the Magistrate’s Court has received threats to change his statement. (AHRC-STM-141-2008)

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the government authorities listed below urging them to immediately set up a competent and independent investigative authority. Please also urge them to provide full protection for the family members of the deceased.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the question of torture calling for an intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

SRI LANKA: Torture victim shot dead while seeking justice

Name of victim: Mr. Siyaguna Kosgodage Anton Sugath Nishantha Fernando
Case: complainant to the Fundamental Rights Application (FR. 446/07) at the Supreme Court; Complainant of bribery case (B/1658/2006) against an Inspector of Police attached to the Negombo Police Station; Complainant regarding death threats at Paliyagoda Criminal Division (No. SIIB 345/266)
Respondents in the Supreme Court: Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Premasiri Vithanage, SSP's Office Negombo; Superintendent of Police, Mahanama, SSP's Office Negombo; Somarsiri Liyanage, Officer-in-Charge, Head Quarters, Police Station, Negombo; Inspector of Police Priyadarshana, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Subasinghe, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Bandara, Negombo Police Station; Inspector of Police Silva, Negombo Police Station; Sub Inspector Abeynayake, Negombo Police Station; Sub Inspector Rohana, Negombo Police Station; PC Leelasena, 19999, Negombo Police Station; PC Nihal, 51750, Negombo Police Station and Sergeant Silva, Negombo Police Station
Respondents in the bribery case: Inspector of Police, Mahagamage Dhamadasa
Name of perpetrators: two unidentified gunmen hired by the police
Date of incident: 20 September 2008
Place of incident: at Dalupotha junction, Negombo

I am shocked to learn that Mr. Nishantha Fernando, torture victim as well as the complainant in two cases, was assassinated by unidentified gunmen hired by police officers in Negombo on September 20, 2008

According to the information I have received, about 10am on September 20, while Nishantha Fernando was driving his van with his 11-year-old son, two persons on a motorbike came from behind and shot him at Dalupotha junction, Negombo.  Nishantha was rushed to Negombo hospital where he was pronounced dead. Fortunately his son was unharmed.

I am aware that Nishantha Fernando, a torture victim, is a complainant in a fundamental rights case in the Supreme Court as well as in a bribery case. I have already informed you of the death threat against him made by Niroshan and Namal, which Nishantha had reported to the Paliyagoda Criminal Division (No. SIIB 345/266).  He requested immediate police protection but received neither response nor protection.

Several police officers attached to the Negombo Police Station are respondents in the torture case currently pending in the Supreme Court. I strongly urge you to set up a competent, independent authority outside of Negombo so that a thorough investigation can be conducted. In this regard, I also urge that the respondents in the fundamental rights application are removed from the Negombo area until the investigation is completed. Such transparency is required to make sure that the investigative authorities are not unduly pressurized or influenced. I further call upon you to provide protection for all family members until the cases before the High Court of Colombo and the Supreme Court are completed.

Yours sincerely,

----------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Hon. Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe
Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights
2, Wijerama Mawatha
Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 269 3284 (ATTN: Mr. Rajiva Wijesinghe, Secretary)
E-mail: info@dmhr.gov.lk 

2. Mr. Neville Piyadigama
Chairperson
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk   

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

4. 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

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

6. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657
E-mail: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk

7. Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Prime Minister
Temple Trees
Galle Road, Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 575454
Tel: +94 11 2 575317-8 or 370 737-8

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
AHRC-UAU-057-2008
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.