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SRI LANKA: Brutal torture and custodial death of a father of three by the Eheliyagoda police

September 7, 2006

URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

8 September 2006

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UA-299-2006: SRI LANKA: Brutal torture and custodial death of a father of three by the Eheliyagoda police

SRI LANKA: Torture; custodial death; arbitrary arrest; police abuse
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Dear friends,

Accordingly to V. Pushpaleela, the wife of the deceased, on August 13, 2006, Sinnappan Abraham Kiragory together with several of his friends was arrested by the Eheliyagoda police on suspicion of committing a murder. They were travelling in 2 three wheelers when they were apprehended by about 10 policemen who came in a jeep and a white coloured van and arrested them.  She also says that from the time of arrest, the policemen who were carrying whips, lashed out at the men, tied their hands behind their back with wire and forced them into the police jeep. A policeman accompanied her and her 2 children, a girl aged 11 and boy aged 7, in a three wheeler to police station.


DETAILS OF THE CASE:

Name of deceased: Sinnappan Abraham Kiragory, 41 years; married with 3 children aged 12, 11 and 7. Wife: V Pushpaleela. Address: Hemingford Estate, Parakaduwa (Now at Weheragoda, Wellampitiya); Occupation of deceased: trader in clothes (pavement hawker) in Colombo at the time of his death.
Name of perpetrators: the OIC and 10 policemen attached to the Eheliyagoda police station including policemen Perera, Abeygunawardena and Nishanka.
Date of incident: 13 to 15 August 2006 and continuing.

Ms. Pushpaleela says it was about 9.30 a.m. when they reached the police station. The 8 men including her husband were taken with their hands tied behind their back and locked up in a cell.

The police forced her and the children to sit on a bench. She was then ordered to remove all her jewellery and hand over the items; even the ear studs of her 11-year-old daughter were not spared. The police had said this was for purposes of 'safekeeping'. The jewellery amounted to about Rs. 70,000. The police had also confiscated the husband's Nokia mobile phone, his diary, ID card and other documents. To date none of the items have been returned.

Then the police began to interrogate the prisoners. Each suspect was dragged out of the cell and the ten policemen pounced on him with batons, poles and clubs. They pummelled them all over their bodies heedless of their screams of agony. Her husband was so severely assaulted that she suspects his legs were broken and he slumped to the ground. One of his attackers had then jumped on his body and continued to assault him on the stomach. The suspects were then handcuffed and put into the cell again. This 'treatment' she says was continued on a rotation basis for the rest of the day.  That is, each suspect was pulled out, beaten and thrown back into the cell over and over again.

At nightfall the policemen brought a bottle of liquor and glasses. They consumed the liquor and then resumed the torture of the suspects. Despite the men complaining of their arms and legs being fractured and that they were in severe pain, no medical treatment was offered to the suspects.

However, the most shocking feature of this cruelty was that two terrified, under aged children were forced to watch their father being so brutalised.  As a result Ms. Pushpaleela says the children are currently suffering from severe mental trauma and the 7-year-old shudders when he sees a policeman and the young one has vowed to take revenge from those who killed his father.

The entire family was detained at the police station the entire day. The following day, the 14th about 10.30 a.m. Ms. Pushpaleela and her two children were released. But when she requested her jewellery from Sub Inspector Abeygunawardena he refused to return it and told her to come back another day.

The police told them not to go back to the village so she went to Colombo. Ms. Pushpaleela says she would have been further incarcerated but luckily her brother in law had retained a lawyer who phoned the police and urged them to release them. Later her husband's friends told her that at about 6.30 p.m., and after the courts had closed for the day, the suspects were taken to a residence, which they thought belonged to the judge (most likely an acting magistrate). They were kept in the vehicle while the police obtained an order to remand them. But then, instead of taking them to the remand prison, the policemen once again took them to a building adjoining the police station, which they suspected to be the quarters of the OIC, blindfolded them and assaulted them again.

They were then taken to the Kuruvita remand prison about 10.30 p.m. At the time the husband's condition was serious so he had been taken to the Ratnapura Hospital by a prison vehicle and 4 prison guards stayed with him in the hospital. By the morning of the 15th he was dead. The others had been taken to hospital the next day but treated and brought back, because it was said there was a threat to their lives.

Meanwhile Ms. Pushpaleela was afraid to return to her residence, so she had taken the children to Colombo to a relative's home. On August 17, 2006 she made a complaint to police headquarters in Colombo. On the 18th she returned and took possession of her husband's body. She also says that on the 19th three officers claiming to be from the CID visited her in Colombo wanting to record her statement. She was taken to the Grand pass police station where she made a statement but when she asked for their contact number, they would not give it o her.  However, Ms. Pushpaleela said that they had come in a vehicle belonging to the Eheliyagoda police and had a copy of her complaint made to the police HQ on 17th.  She also complained to the Human Rights Commission on the 20th.

The policemen responsible for this brutal torture and murder are still continuing at their jobs at the same station. They are also spreading a rumour in the Estate that as she is the only witness to the incident, she must be killed. Thus she believes her live is in grave danger.

This is a tragic case of police brutality that resulted in the needless death of an innocent man and has also left three school-going children fatherless and destitute. We therefore urge the relevant authorities namely, the Inspector General of Police, the National Police Commission, Human Rights Commission and the Attorney General's Department to:

Immediately begin investigations into the death of Sinnappan Abraham Kiragory by policemen of the Eheliyagoda police;
Hold a disciplinary inquiry and take immediate action against the offending policemen.
Institute proceedings against them in a court of law;
Take action against the acting Magistrate for remanding severely injured suspects without even seeing them solely on the version of the police.
Afford compensation to the wife and three children of the deceased to enable them to continue their education and for the irreparable loss caused to them by the law enforcement agency of the country.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities urging them immediately investigate this heinous crime and take action disciplinary and legal action against the officers concerned, provide treatment to the traumatised children and compensation to the family for the loss of a father and husband and to further provide protection to the family.

To support this appeal please click here:  http://www.ahrchk.nethttp://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UA-299-2006

Suggested Letter:

Dear _________________,


SRI LANKA : Custodial death due to torture, brutal assault in front of the victim's children

I am appalled to learn of yet another custodial death caused by sheer brutality at the hands of the Sri Lankan Police.

Sinnappan Abraham Kiragory and several of his friends were arrested by officers of the Eheliyagoda police station; his wife, Ms. V Pushpaleela and two of his children were also taken to the station.  Once there Ms. Pushpaleela and her children were forced to watch in helpless horror as her husband and the other men were brutally tortured by the officers.

Each suspect was dragged out of the cell and the ten policemen pounced on him with batons, poles and clubs. They pummelled them all over their bodies heedless of their screams of agony. Her husband was so severely assaulted that she suspects his legs were broken and he slumped to the ground. One of his attackers had then jumped on his body and continued to assault him on the stomach. The suspects were then handcuffed and put into the cell again. This 'treatment' she says was continued on a rotation basis for the rest of the day.  That is, each suspect was pulled out, beaten and thrown back into the cell over and over again.

At nightfall the policemen brought a bottle of liquor and glasses. They consumed the liquor and then resumed the torture of the suspects. Despite the men complaining of their arms and legs being fractured and that they were in severe pain, no medical treatment was offered to the suspects.

However, the most shocking feature of this cruelty was that two terrified, under-aged children were forced to watch their father being so brutalised.  As a result Ms. Pushpaleela says the children are currently suffering from severe mental trauma and the 7-year-old shudders when he sees a policeman and the young one has vowed to take revenge from those who killed his father.

The entire family was detained at the police station the entire day. The following day, the 14th about 10.30 a.m. Ms. Pushpaleela and her two children were released. But when she requested her jewellery (all of her personal jewellery and even her daughters ear studs were confiscated by the police for "safe keeping") from Sub Inspector Abeygunawardena he refused to return it and told her to come back another day. 

Ms. Pushpaleela was told by her husband's friends that eventually they were taken to a Magistrate's house who ordered them remanded.  However, even then their ordeal was not over.  Instead of being taken to a remand prison they were returned to the police station and taken to a building believed to that of the Officer-in-Charge where they were again brutalised.  When at last they were transported to remand Mr. Kiragory's situation was so serious he was immediately transferred to Ratnapura Hospital by a prison vehicle and 4 prison guards stayed with him. By the morning of the 15th he was dead.

Ms. Pushpaleela made a report to the Meanwhile to police headquarters in Colombo on the August 17th but on the 19th three officers claiming to be from the CID visited her in Colombo wanting to record her statement. She was taken to the Grand pass police station where she made a statement but when she asked for their contact number, they would not give it o her.  However, Ms. Pushpaleela said that they had come in a vehicle belonging to the Eheliyagoda police and had a copy of her complaint made to the police HQ on 17th.  She also complained to the Human Rights Commission on the 20th.  However, the only thing that has happened so far is that rumours have been spread throughout her home area that as a witness to the crime she is also to be eliminated.

Torture and custodial deaths at police stations in Sri Lanka is becoming the norm and it is appalling that the government, in the person of the Inspector General of Police, the National Police Commission and the Human Rights Commission have taken little in the way of any serious action to prevent it from continuing.

I urge for an immediate inquiry into this senseless death and for protection for Ms. Pushpaleela.  Compensation should be paid so as to ensure that the now fatherless children may continue their education.  Trauma counselling should also be afforded to the two children who were forced to witness their father's brutal torture.

Yours sincerely,


__________________
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net

2. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
Email: chandralaw@police.lk

3. Secretary
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

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

5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (general)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-299-2006
Countries :
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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.