SRI LANKA: Fabricated charges, severe torture and arbitrary arrest of civilian by Dambulla Police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Kaluthara Guruge Thilan Suranga Jayasinghe, who was arbitrarily arrested upon false accusations and was allegedly severely tortured and detained by the Dambulla Police.  Mr. Jayasinghe claims he was beaten and kicked in the face, head and stomach by police officers, which caused bleeding to his nose and face.  He was admitted to the hospital on 27 September 2005 and released on September 30.  However, due to a severe headache, pain in his spine and bleeding from his nose, he was again admitted to hospital on October 1 for further treatment.  Although the victim’s mother lodged a complaint on September 28, no action has been taken by the police authorities to investigate the matter.  Moreover, the case should be investigated since the person who had ‘tipped off’ the police about the supposed crime the victim had committed, has since made a statement that he had given the information under duress and that it was a false charge.

We request your urgent action in asking the Inspector General of the Police to order a prompt and thorough investigation into the alleged conduct of the police.  If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against Mr. Jayasinghe, then they must be made accountable for their actions and if found guilty of torture, indicted under the CAT Act No. 22 of 1994.  What is more, if the charges are found to be fabricated then the Dambulla Police must drop the charges and compensate the victim for the injuries he has suffered.  During the investigation of the police, protection must be afforded to the victim and his family.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victims: Kaluthara Guruge Thilan Suranga Jayasinghe
Address: 459, Kurunegala Road, Dambulla
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Rathnayaka (T 58638), village security officer
2. Seelaratna, village security officer
3. Police constable Abeykone of the Dambulla Police Station
Place of incident: Outside Arunalu Rest, Dambulla and outside Taj Hotel, Dambulla
Time and date of incident: The night of 27 September 2005, between 10.30 and 11p.m.

Case details:

On 27 October 2005 between the hours of 10.30 and 11.00 at night, Kaluthara Guruge Thilan Suranga Jayasinghe was on his way to collect the rent from a market stall owned by his brother when he was met by the above named police officers from the Dambulla Police station coming out of the “Arunala Rest”.  They were seen scolding the owner in abusive language after taking some alcohol from the “Arunala Rest” and demanding one hundred rupees from the cashier to pay for the three-wheeler they had traveled in.  During this incident between the police and the shop owner, two of the police officers from the group approached Suranga Jayasinghe and ordered him to buy them a bottle of alcohol.  He replied that he did not have any money to buy them alcohol. The police officers then responded by hitting him.

The victim was severely hit by the officers on the face, head and stomach and they accused him of taking ‘commission’, which the victim denied.  He fell to the ground due to the alleged attack by the police and they then began kicking him.  The victim began bleeding heavily from the face and nose.  The attack continued for about ten minutes. Afterwards the victim was placed in a three-wheeler and taken to a hospital.  Witnesses to the incident, including a man named Ashanka, pleaded with the police to cease abusing the victim, but they were merely reprimanded.

When Mr. Jayasinghe was in the hospital, someone came and told him to leave saying that there was no point in him being there.  Thus, he left the hospital and went to the Taj Hotel.  While he was there, he learnt that the cashier from “Arunala Rest” was taken to the police station and then taken to the Taj Hotel.  The police officers who took the cashier were the same officers who had tortured Mr. Jayasinghe earlier.  When they saw Mr. Jayasinghe, they led him to a three-wheeler and again tortured him.  Following this incident, the victim was again admitted to the hospital and was hand-cuffed and chained to the bed with one officer standing on guard.  It was only after much pleading that he was allowed to go to the toilet, where he started vomiting.  On the request made by one of the hospital authorities the handcuffs were removed.

The victim left the hospital on September 30 but he continued to suffer from swollen eyes, severe headaches, pain in the spine and bleeding from his nose.  Due to these grave health conditions, the victim was taken to the hospital in Kandy on October 1 where he was put in wards 10 and 33.
The victim’s mother lodged a complaint about this incident of brutal torture to the Assistant Superintendent of Police of Dambulla office on September 28.  However, to date no action has been taken by the police regarding this matter.  What is more, on September 30 a statement was made by a Mr. Mohamed, who was the person who had informed the police that the victim was supposedly receiving ‘commissions’ from him.   Mr. Mohamed confessed that the accusations he had made to the police were made under duress and that it was a false charge.  Thus, the police had beaten up an innocent man based on fabricated charges.  The two witnesses, Sujjeewa and Ashanka, have filed affidavits over the torture of Mr. Jayasinghe.

Such action by the police reflects the lack of training many police officers have in terms of investigation skills.  If the police had examined the allegation of the victim accepting supposed ‘commission’ more thoroughly, they would have found out it was a false charge.  Instead, many police officers in Sri Lanka merely rely on the unlawful and arbitrary practice of torturing countless victims for confessions.  What is more worrying is that in many of the cases, the tortured victim had not committed the crime or the charges against them were fabricated.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Inspector General of Police voicing the need to investigate the fabrication of charges and the alleged torture of Mr. Jayasinghe and for reform of the law enforcement agencies.

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