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SRI LANKA: Torture victim pursuing criminal torture case shot

November 21, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

21 November 2004
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UA-157-2004: SRI LANKA: Torture victim pursuing criminal torture case shot

SRI LANKA: Attempt on life of torture victim, lack of witness protection
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Gerald Perera, a torture victim in Sri Lanka who had earlier received the highest compensation pay-out and who has since been the key complainant in a criminal case against the accused police officers, has been shot. At last report, he was being rushed to hospital. The shooting is believed connected to the criminal case pending in the high court, which was due to be taken up shortly.

As a person’s life hangs in the balance, please write without delay to the responsible Sri Lankan authorities to demand that full medical assistance and protection be given to the victim. Please also demand that a full investigation be undertaken into the case without delay.

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

Name of the victim: Gerald Mervin Perera, a cook at the Colombo Dockyards
Current address of the victim: 52/2B Iddhagodella, Mihidumawatte, Gonagaha
Alleged perpetrators:  Unknown persons with suspected links to former officers of Wattala Police station
Date of incident: 11:15am, 21 November 2004
Place of incident: Welisara, near Colombo

Details of attack:

At around 11:15am on 21 November 2004, Gerald Marvin Perera, the torture victim who obtained the highest compensation payout from a Supreme Court decision, and who is currently the complainant in a criminal case of torture against several police officers formerly of Wattala Police station, including Sub-Inspector (SI) Suresh Gunaratne and SI Herath, was shot and seriously injured while traveling to work.

According to the information received so far, Gerald had alighted to change buses at Jaela to come to Colombo. After he boarded the bus, at Welisara a person alighted from a car bearing licence plate no. 65-68-39 and boarded it also. He walked to where Gerald was sitting in the back row and shot at him. Then the shooter got down from the bus, returned to the same car and went away. The bus driver drove directly to Ragama General Hospital, and after some treatment Gerald was dispatched to the Colombo main hospital for emergency services. At the time of sending this appeal, he was taken there by ambulance. According to the sources close to the family, his condition is critical.

The family has lodged a complaint at the Ragama hospital police post, and the Ragama Police station. The AHRC has also informed the police authorities about this incident.

In recent weeks, Gerald had been under pressure to withdraw the case lodged against the said officers in the Negombo High Court, under the Convention against Torture Act of Sri Lanka, Act No. 22 of 1994. The minimum sentence prescribed by law under this act for the offence of torture is seven years in prison. Family sources say that a group of policemen visited Gerald’s house recently and pressurized him to withdraw the case. The AHRC also has information that SI Suresh and SI Herath have been visiting other persons known to Gerald Perera to ask them to have him withdraw the complaint.

In fact, the Attorney General has filed the case and it is not within the power of the complainant to withdraw it. The request to withdraw the case thus means to give a letter or an affidavit stating that the initial complaint was false, and that the complainant has no interest in pursuing the case. There are other instances where such letters have been obtained under duress. Gerald has refused to submit to the pressure to do the same.

One provincial council member of Mabole, known to Gerald’s family as Mr Niroshan, has also visited his house and asked him to withdraw the complaint. Such pressures made on behalf of the police by local politicians are also a common phenomenon in Sri Lanka.

This shooting has taken place against the backdrop of these failed attempts. The family suspects that the accused police officers in the torture case are behind this attempt to kill Gerald Perera. If he passes away, the key witness in the case against them will be gone. The family also suspects that the police may have used some underworld figure to carry out the shooting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The full details of Gerald Perera’s case can be found in the Supreme Court judgment that led to the record compensation payment. Please also see the related statement by the AHRC, MR-13-2002, MR-15-2002, AS-07-2003. Other details are available in earlier Urgent Appeals and Updates: UP-44-2002, UP-47-2002,

SUGGESTED ACTION:

The AHRC calls upon you to write to the government of Sri Lanka, particularly to the Attorney General and Inspector General of Police, to inquire into this matter urgently, and also provide all medical assistance necessary to save the life of Gerald Perera. Please also request that around-the-clock protection be given both to Gerald and his family, as the perpetrators of this act may well make a second attempt on his life while in the hospital.

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

Re: Attempt on the life of torture victim Gerald Marvin Perera; victim in critical condition

I am deeply disturbed to hear that Gerald Marvin Perera, the torture victim awarded a record level of compensation by the Supreme Court [SCFR. 328/2002 - W.R. Sanjeewa AAL (for Gerald Perera) vs. Sena Suraweera (Inspector) and eight others] was today shot by persons suspected of having links to the accused police torturers. The criminal case pertaining to the same incident of torture is proceeding in the Negombo High Court, and from what I have been informed, there had been consistent efforts by the accused police and their associates to pressure Mr Perera to retract his complaint pending before the court.

According to the details I have received to date, Mr Perera was shot at around 11:15am on 21 November 2004 while traveling to work. Apparently he had alighted to change buses at Jaela, to come to Colombo. After he boarded the bus, at Welesera a person alighted from a car bearing licence plate no. 65-68-39 and boarded it also. He walked to where Gerald was sitting in the back row and shot at him. Then the shooter got down from the bus, returned to the same car and went away. The bus driver drove directly to Ragama General Hospital, and after some treatment Gerald was dispatched to the Colombo main hospital for emergency treatment.

According to the sources close to the family, Mr Perera’s condition is critical. The family has lodged a complaint at the Ragama hospital police post, and the Ragama Police station. I understand that the police authorities have also been informed about this incident.

I am informed that in recent weeks, Gerald had been under pressure to withdraw the case lodged against the said officers in the Negombo High Court, under the Convention against Torture Act of Sri Lanka, Act No. 22 of 1994. Family sources say that a group of policemen visited Gerald’s house recently and pressurized him to withdraw the case. Two police officers named in the case, one SI Suresh Gunaratne and one SI Herath have been visiting other persons known to Gerald Perera to ask them to have him withdraw the complaint, by way of giving a letter or an affidavit stating that the initial complaint was false. However, Gerald had refused. One provincial council member of Mabole, known to Gerald’s family as Mr Niroshan, has also reportedly visited his house and asked him to withdraw the complaint.

The family of Gerald Perera has good reason to suspect that the accused police officers in the torture case are behind this attempt to kill him. If he passes away, the key witness in the case against them will be gone. The family also suspects that the police may have used some underworld figure to carry out the shooting.

Accordingly, I call upon you to do the following things without delay:

1. Provide full round-the-clock security for Mr Perera and his family.

2. Provide all medical assistance necessary to save his life.

3. Order comprehensive investigations into this attempted murder that will lead to quick apprehension of the perpetrators.

Please be assured that I am most seriously concerned by this attempt on the life of a torture victim who has attempted to defend his fundamental rights, and will be following the case closely.

Sincerely yours,

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SEND A LETTER TO:

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

2. 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. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/426711/327877

4. 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 

5. 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 

6. Professor Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org


7. Professor Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions 
Att: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND 
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (general)
E-mail: lventre@ohchr.org

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-157-2004
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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.