SRI LANKA: Alleged illegal detention and torture of a man by the Polgahawela police on fabricated charges 

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: UA-118-2004
ISSUES: Torture,

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information of alleged torture of Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath (40) by the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) and one constable attached to the Polgahawela police station on 5 September 2004. Due to severe torture, the victim has been receiving treatment at the hospital until now. According to the victim, after torturing him, the police further fabricated charges against him with the help of a doctor who gave a false medical report stating that the victim was drunk in order to cover the illegal police torture.

The AHRC calls for your urgent intervention into this case. Please send a letter to the Sri Lankan authorities and urge them to immediately inquire this case. Please also request them to take legal/disciplinary action against the police officers and the doctor who are responsible for the torture and fabrication of charges against the victim.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath; 40 years old; a business man, married with three children
Alleged perpetrators: 1) Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) of the Polgahawela police station, 2) Police constable attached to the same police station who can be identified by the victim, 3) Doctor at Polgahawela Government Hospital who allegedly gave a false medical report to the police (can be identified by the victim)
Period of illegal detention and torture: 5-6 September 2004
Place of incident: Pologahawela police station

Case details: (Based on the account of the victim)

At around 4:00pm of 5 September 2004, Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath (40) went to the Polgahawela police station to see some of his friends who were in custody. When he was entering the police station, one unknown person wearing civilian clothes stopped him and asked whether he was drunk. Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath thought it was a very ridiculous question (as he did not drink any liquor) so he just ignored him and went inside the police station.

According to Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, when he approached the cell where his friends were locked up with due permission from the receptionists, someone suddenly started to kick and assault him from behind. Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath recognized that he was the same person who had questioned him when he had entered the police station and later knew that he was a constable attached to the Polgahawela police station.

It is alleged that when the victim was being assaulted, the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) of the Polgahawela police station came in and ordered the constable to bring the victim to his room. At that time the O.I.C. was wearing a pair of pants and a T-shirt and the victim alleged that he looked completely drunk.

When Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was brought into the O.I.C.’s room, it is also alleged that the O.I.C. brutally assaulted him with a Kitul tree pole (very hard wooden pole). After eight to nine blows, the O.I.C. took the victim to the police station compound and ordered him to remove his shirt. When he took off his shirt, the O.I.C. ordered the victim to fold his sarong (Amuda Gahanne) and raise his hands. The O.I.C. then started hitting him with the same Kitul tree pole severely. After receiving 12 to 15 blows, the victim was ordered to crawl around the compound. As he was crawling around, the O.I.C. kicked him continuously. After that, the O.I.C. again took the victim near the cell and severely assaulted him for about 15 minutes.

Then, the police put Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath into a police jeep and took him to the Polgahawela Government Hospital where he was produced before a doctor (name unknown). However, the victim claimed that the doctor did not examine or question him at all and falsely commented to the police that he was drunk. The police then brought Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath back to the police station and put him in the lock-up. On the following morning (September 6), the victim was released on bail and his family members took him to the Polgahawela Government Hospital where he was admitted. Up to now the victim is being treated in ward no.01 of the Polgahawela Government Hospital. The exact charge against the victim by the police is unknown.

The AHRC is deeply concerned by this alleged brutal torture of Mr. Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath by the O.I.C. and a policeman of the Polgahawela Police Station. The case shows that the victim was assaulted by the police without any reason. Even if there were certain charges against him, the Polgahawela police should have investigated the victim according to due process instructed by law. However, the police used their common method – torture- to harass an innocent civilian instead.

In light of the above, the AHRC strongly requests the government of Sri Lanka to order an immediate and impartial investigation into this case. The O.I.C. and the policeman who are responsible for the torture of Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath must be prosecuted and brought to justice. The doctor who allegedly provided a false medical comment to the police should be arrested and punished according to law as well.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or an email to the addresses below and urge them to take immediate legal/disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrators who are responsible for this serious case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Sir,

Re: SRI LANKA: Alleged illegal detention and torture of a man by the Polgahawela police on fabricated charges

Name of the victim: Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath; 40 years old; a business man, married with three children
Alleged perpetrators: 1) Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) of the Polgahawela police station, 2) Police constable attached to the same police station who can be identified by the victim, 3) Doctor at Polgahawela Government Hospital who allegedly gave a false medical report to the police, (He can be identified by the victim) 
Period of illegal detention and torture: 5-6 September 2004 
Place of incident: Pologahawela police station

I am writing to you in concern about the case of illegal detention and torture of Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath by the Pologahawela police. 

On 5 September 2004, Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath went to the Pologahawela police station to see some of his friends who were in police custody. However, at the police station Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was illegally detained with no charges explained to him and allegedly brutally tortured by the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) and one police constable. According to Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, the O.I.C. looked fully drunk at that time. Due to severe torture, the victim was injured seriously and has been hospitalized until now. Furthermore, it is alleged that after torturing him the police fabricated the charges against the victim with the help of a doctor who falsely stated to the police that the victim was drunk in order to cover the illegal police torture.  
  
This case reminds me of several other cases in Sri Lanka where similar arbitrary arrest, detention and torture have taken place for a long time. During the last few months, I have also been informed of several other cases of torture against innocent civilians by Sri Lankan police officers. Unfortunately, laws such as the CAT Act No 22 of 1994, which makes torture a crime punishable with serious consequences, remain only in the books and the practice of torture continues with impunity throughout Sri Lanka. It is high time that the government of Sri Lanka deals with the endemic torture and careless arrest and detention taking place all over the country. 

I strongly urge you to order an immediate and impartial inquiry into this case and file action against those officers including the O.I.C. who have tortured Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, under the Convention Against Torture (CAT) Act. The alleged perpetrators should be suspended from service while the investigation is going on. I also request you to take legal/disciplinary action against the doctor who allegedly provided a false statement to the police. The victim must be exonerated from charges made without basis and paid compensation for his illegal detention and torture.

Yours sincerely,

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Send a letter to:

1. Mr. T.I. de Silva
Inspector General of Police (IGP) 
New Secretariat 
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA 
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/426711/327877

2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan 
Attorney General 
Attorney General's Department 
Colombo 12 
SRI LANKA 
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421 
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net

3. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC 
Chairperson 
National Police Commission 
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7 
SRI LANKA 
Fax: +94 11 2 669 528
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 2 694 925 / 673 806 
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470 
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

5. Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo-1, 
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 333 703

6. Mr. Mahindra Rajapakse 
Prime Minister 
Cambridge Place 
Colombo 7 
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk

7. Mr. Theo C. van Boven 
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture 
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND 
Fax: +41 22 917 9016

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type : Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID : UA-118-2004
Countries : Sri Lanka,
Issues : Torture,