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SRI LANKA: Police kill a man and subsequently fabricate stories to justify his death

December 28, 2005

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

28 December 2005
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UA-248-2005: SRI LANKA: Police kill a man and subsequently fabricate stories to justify his death

SRI LANKA: Extra-judicial killing; Inadequate action by the government; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the killing of a man, Udaya Kumara, by policemen attached to the Mount Lavinia police station on 19 December 2005. After the victim’s death, the policemen involved allegedly fabricated stories to justify Udaya’s death. The police claimed that Udaya tried to throw a hand grenade at them when they tried to arrest him. The victim’s family, however, is not convinced with the police’s version of events. They claim that Udaya was killed due to mistaken identity.

This is yet another incident wherein the police have resorted to fabricating stories against people they have killed to justify their death. The police in Sri Lanka have regularly and arbitrarily deprived suspects or victims of their right to life in absence of a due process of law. In any circumstance, a person suspected to have committed a crime should be brought to court – this right is non-derogable. The AHRC condemns this killing and supports the family’s call for an independent inquiry into the matter.

The police version that it was a killing in self-defense is unacceptable; for even if there was an attempt to use a grenade, the suspect could have been brought under control through the use of non-lethal force. Additionally, the family’s claim that the police have mistakenly identified the victim in their operation should also be investigated.

Your urgent intervention is required to ensure that an immediate and impartial investigation is conducted in this case. The policemen involved must be placed under investigation and sanctions must be imposed upon them without delay. If the allegations are found to be true, appropriate criminal and administrative charges must be filed against them in court.


Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Udaya Kumara from Panadura
Alleged perpetrators: Some officers attached to Mount Lavinia Police
Date of incident: 19 December 2005

Case details:

On the 19th December Udaya Kumara was shot dead allegedly by some officers attached to the Mount Lavinia police station.  The family suspects that probably the shooting was due to mistaken identity.  Udaya Kumara had never had any criminal record.  He is a person from Moneragala, which is far away from Panadura where he lived due to his employment.

After the death the police tried to make out that the victim tried to throw a hand grenade when they tried to arrest him and that it was on that occasion that he was shot dead.  It is a very common story made out by the police after extrajudicial killings or torture that they were merely trying to defend themselves by such shooting or torture.  There are also many regular stories of people being killed in a campaign to eliminate “criminals”.  There are instances when innocent people are killed due to mistaken identity.

Often such incidents are not investigated and only the version given by the police is recorded.  The victim’s family has called for an independent investigation into the matter.

Given the frequency with which the police in Sri Lanka use this kind of excuse for killings there is no reason to believe their version of the story in the present case at all. The state is under obligation to inquire into all killings and when the alleged culprits are police officers these investigations need to be conducted by independent bodies.  The UN treaty bodies such as the Human Rights Committee and the CAT Committee has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Sri Lankan government to ensure prompt and impartial inquiries into abuses of human rights.  However, the mechanisms for such inquiries are in fact degenerating more rather than improving.

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

Re: SRI LANKA: Police kill a man and subsequently fabricate stories to justify his death

I am writing to draw your attention to the killing of Mr. Udaya Kumara on 19 December 2005 allegedly by several police officers attached to the Mount Lavinia police station. I have learned that after Udaya’s death the policemen involved reportedly fabricated stories against him to justify his death. The police claimed that Udaya tried to throw a hand grenade at them when they tried to arrest him, prompting them to shoot him.

According to the information I have received, however, Udaya could have been killed due to mistaken identity. Udaya never had any criminal record.  He is a person from Moneragala, which is far from Panadura where he lived at the time of his death. I am calling for a prompt and impartial inquiry into this killing. If allegations are found to be true, appropriate charges must be filed against the perpetrators.

An inquiry into the police’s version of Udaya’s death should also be thoroughly investigated. In any circumstance, a person cannot be arbitrarily deprived of his life without the due process of law. Any person who is suspected to have committed a crime or offence must be taken to court to face the charges brought against them.

I am aware that the U.N. Human Rights Committee and the U.N. CAT Committee have repeatedly raised concerns about this trend of extra-judicial killings in Sri Lanka. I urge you to ensure prompt and impartial inquiries into this case and other similar abuses of human rights. If people are killed in the manner alleged in this case and no proper inquiries take place, then there is no possibility to protect the security of life of anyone.

In short, I urge you to take all measures necessary to ensure justice in this case.


Yours sincerely,

____________

PLEASE SEND 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. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President of Sri Lanka
Cambridge Place
Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk

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


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-248-2005
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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.