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SRI LANKA: Torture of a mentally ill man by the Poddala Police

March 23, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

23 March 2006
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UA-103-2006: SRI LANKA: Torture of a mentally ill man by the Poddala Police

SRI LANKA: Torture; arbitrary arrest and detention; fabricated charge; threat and intimidation; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of an incident whereby two policemen from Poddala police are alleged to have repeatedly tortured a mentally ill man, who they accused of having stolen a mobile phone. When the police were informed that the missing phone had in fact been found, they released the man, but made several threats – including death threats – against the victim and his family for having lodged complaints to the authorities regarding their conduct.

On 17 February 2006, two policemen named Indika and Chaminda of the Poddala police visited Mr. Hevage at his home and arrested him - apparently on the instructions of the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) - and took him into custody at the police station. On the way to the station, the police proceeded to assault the victim. They did this despite the victim’s mother having told them at the time of arrest that her son was suffering from mental health issues.

Once at the station, the police once again savagely assaulted Mr. Hevage with clubs, their fists and boots. They then produced a rubber hose pipe and assaulted the victim with this to his head. While assaulting him, the police accused him of stealing a mobile phone from one Damith - the son of a local businessman named Jayasena - and demanded to know the whereabouts of the phone.  Mr. Hevage was also taken to Jayasena’s house and tortured again.

After returning from the house, the victim was locked up in a police holding cell. Sometime later it is believed that Damith contacted the police and informed them that he had found his lost mobile phone. Thereafter, on the following day, February 18, at around 2pm the police released Mr. Hevage without charge.

Almost immediately, Mr. Hevage was rushed to the Karapitiya hospital where he was admitted and medically treated for five days in ward six (his bed head ticket read (BHT) No 017391).

Meanwhile, on the day of arrest, the victim’s mother complained to all relevant authorities in the country, including the Human Rights Commission, the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General, and the National Police Commission about the assault on her mentally ill son. Subsequent to these written complaints on March 16 the two perpetrators, Indika and Chaminda visited the victim’s home in a police jeep and scolded him and his family in filthy language and threatened them to withdraw their complaints. The following day, two unknown persons whom the victim’s family suspect to be policemen, visited their home on a motorcycle and demanded that they withdraw their complaints and threatened them with death.

It is believed that the police assaulted the victim on the instigation of the businessman, Jayasena and his son, Damith. This assumption is based on the fact that the victim did odd jobs for various persons in the village, including the businessmen, whose house the victim was at when the mobile phone went missing. Apparently the businessman had immediately contacted the police and induced them - monetarily or otherwise - to arrest and assault the victim.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the concerned authorities, as listed below, seeking their intervention in this case. Please ask that an independent investigation be launched into the allegations in this case and that any persons found to have committed the crimes noted, be brought to justice for their actions. The investigation should also establish what role businessman Jayasena had, if any, in the arrest and assault of the victim. Meanwhile the victim and his family should be afforded protection, his medical expenses should be covered and compensation must be afforded.

Suggested letter:

Dear ___________,

SRI LANKA: Torture of a mentally ill man by the Poddala Police

Name of victim/complainant: Chintaka Kumara Welivitagoda Hevage, 21-years-old, living with his parents.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Policemen Indika and Chaminda and the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Poddala police station
Date of incident: 17 February 2006

I write to voice my condemnation of an incident whereby two policemen from Poddala police are alleged to have repeatedly tortured a mentally ill man, who they accused of having stolen a mobile phone. When the police were informed that the missing phone had in fact been found, they released the man, but made several threats – including death threats – against the victim and his family for having lodged complaints to the authorities regarding their conduct.

Policemen Indika and Chaminda from the Poddala police went to the house of Mr. Hevage on 17 February 2006. There they arrested him - apparently on the instructions of the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) - and took him into custody. On the way to the station, the police proceeded to assault the victim. They did this despite the victim’s mother having told them at the time of arrest that her son was suffering from mental health issues.

Once at the station, the police once again savagely assaulted Mr. Hevage with clubs, a hose pipe, their fists and boots. While assaulting him, the police accused him of stealing a mobile phone from one Damith - the son of a local businessman named Jayasena - and demanded to know the whereabouts of the phone.  Mr. Hevage was also taken to Jayasena’s house and tortured again.

After returning from the house, the victim was locked up in a police holding cell. Sometime later it is believed that Damith contacted the police and informed them that he had found his lost mobile phone. Thereafter, on the following day, February 18, at around 2pm the police released Mr. Hevage without charge. He was then taken directly to the Karapitiya hospital where he was admitted and medically treated for five days in ward six (his bed head ticket read (BHT) No 017391).

Meanwhile, on the day of arrest, the victim’s mother complained to all relevant authorities in the country, including the Human Rights Commission, the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General, and the National Police Commission about the assault on her mentally ill son. Subsequent to these written complaints on March 16 the two perpetrators, Indika and Chaminda visited the victim’s home in a police jeep and scolded him and his family in filthy language and threatened them to withdraw their complaints. The following day, two unknown persons whom the victim’s family suspect to be policemen, visited their home on a motorcycle and demanded that they withdraw their complaints and threatened them with death.

It is believed that the police assaulted the victim on the instigation of the businessman, Jayasena and his son, Damith. This assumption is based on the fact that the victim did odd jobs for various persons in the village, including the businessmen, whose house the victim was at when the mobile phone went missing. Apparently the businessman had immediately contacted the police and induced them - monetarily or otherwise - to arrest and assault the victim.

Owing to the nature of the crimes committed against the victim, I call on you to intervene in this matter and ensure that those responsible are brought to justice for their acts. I urge you to ensure that an independent investigation be launched into the allegations in this case and that any persons found to have committed the crimes noted, be brought to justice for their actions. During the process of this investigation, those police personnel being investigated must be suspended from their duties, to ensure that no threat or intimidation is directed at the victim or his family. The investigation should also establish what role businessman Jayasena had, if any, in the arrest and assault of the victim. Meanwhile the victim and his family should be afforded protection, his medical expenses should be covered and compensation must be afforded.

I look forward to your intervention in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877

2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421

3. National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk

4. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694925 / 673806
Fax: +94 11 2 694924 / 696470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

5. Mr. J Thangawelu
DIG Legal
Police Headquarters
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: 94 11 2381 394
Email: legaldiv@police.lk

6. His Excellency the Hon. 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 (this is contact for Secretary to President) 
Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk

7. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the question of torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org 

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-103-2006
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.