Home / News / Urgent Appeals / SRI LANKA: No investigation after Piliyandala police assault a man

SRI LANKA: No investigation after Piliyandala police assault a man

October 31, 2007

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

31 October 2007
------------------------------------------------------
UA-312-2007: SRI LANKA: No investigation after Piliyandala police assault a man

SRI LANKA: Police assault; threat; no investigation
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Piliyandala police beat a man on 27 September 2007. It was only after the victim produced a letter from the office of a government minister that a high ranking officer at the station allowed him to lodge a complaint. However no investigation has been launched.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the victim's testimony)

Mr. Priyantha Fernando (27) is a three-wheel driver and he hires the three-wheeler from the owner, Mr. Umesh Indika by paying Rs. 250/- (USD 2.25) every day.

On 27 September 2007, Priyantha Fernando was parking the three-wheeler in the parking lot in front of the Moratuwa police station as he usually does. Suddenly two persons approached him and demanded that they wanted to hire his vehicle to take them to Katubeddha, which is a few kilometers away. However, he told them he could not accept the hire because he had been hired in advance to drive for the wife of an officer of the Moratuwa police station named Prasanna.

As Priyantha Fernando told them this they became aggressive and stated that "it is only with you we will go". Then, one of the persons gripped Priyantha Fernando by the neck and wanted to see his identity card. While the person gripped Priyantha Fernando, the other searched the victim's hip pocket and took out the paper which had been given to him by the police when his original identification card was lost. They added that "it is you we are looking for" and squeezed his neck and held it tight against the bar of the three wheeler which is behind the drivers' seat.

According to the victim, he thought that they intended to steal the three-wheeler, and told them that the three-wheeler did not belong to him. At that time, he saw that the owner of the three-wheeler, Umesh Indika, coming towards them. The victim then said, "The owner of the three-wheeler is coming". Then, the two persons identified themselves as police officers and pushed the victim away. They then caught hold of Umesh Indika, put him inside a van and drove away. 

Following the incident the victim went to the Moratuwa police station to make a complaint but the police refused to accept the complaint. Instead they gave oral messages to deliver to the household of Umesh Indika. It was at the police station that the victim later came to know that the two persons who had taken Udesh Indika were from the Piliyandala police.

On the next day, September 28, the victim went to the Panadura North police station with his mother to make a complaint. However, once again the police did not accept the complaint but told them to go to the Moratuwa police station. When they went to the Moratuwa police station they were told again to return to the Panadura North police station. The Officer-in-Charge of the Panadura North police telephoned to the Piliyandala police and told them to inquire into the incident and asked the victim to go to the Piliyandala police station.

On September 29, the victim and his mother went to the Piliyandala police station to again lodge a complaint. According to the victim the Officer-in-Charge of the Piliyandala police station and the Officer-in-charge of the Crimes Branch of the police station scolded them in a very low manner, using foul language against them. They even threatened that three persons had already been killed and that the victim will be next. They then refused to record the victim's complaint. On the same day the victim was admitted to the Kalubowila hospital for treatment suffered in the attack. The victim informed to a doctor from the Kalubowila hospital that he had been assaulted by the police. The doctor diagnosed that the nerve on the left side of his neck had been damaged and that should wear a plaster case on the neck for about one month.

At around 3:30pm on September 30, the victim again went to the Moratuwa police station but the police denied recording his complaint.

On October 2 the victim told the incident to Ranjan de Mel, the coordination officer of Minister Jeewan Kumarathunga who lives in Rawatawatte. Ranjan de Mel gave him a letter to present to the Senior Superintend of Police (SSP) in the Mt. Lavinia police station. This officer read the letter and signed it and asked for the victim to hand it over to the Assistant Superintend of Police (ASP) at the Moratuwa police station. Accordingly the victim met ASP Dayananda and handed over the letter. It was only then that the victims' statement was recorded by a Woman Police Officer and a form to get admitted at the Kalubowila hospital police station was given to him. The victim was again admitted to the Kalubowila hospital. The victim showed the doctor the hospital card and the x-ray which had been given on his first admission on 29 September 2007.

On October 3, the police attached to the hospital recorded a statement from him and on the following day, October 4, the Judiciary Medical Officer (JMO) examined the victim. The victim was discharged on that day and asked to attend the clinic to continue his treatment on October 11. As a result of the attack, the victim has difficulty in turning his neck freely and in continuing his job.

The victim has also written to the Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Chairperson of National Police Commission, Inspector General Police, and Senior Superintendent of Police at Mt. Lavinia police station. However, to-date, the investigation has not started.

The AHRC is gravely concerned by the police assaulted of Priyantha Fernando by the Piliyandala police officers. The AHRC is also concerned by the refusal to record a complaint by the police after they police attacked the victim. This case clearly shows that it is the victim who suffers from the existing policing system even when trying to seek redress through the system. An immediate investigation has to start without delay.
 
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to start an investigation and take necessary action against the alleged perpetrators who assaulted the victim. Please also urge them to ensure that he is paid appropriate compensation for the injuries caused and also for the violation of his fundamental rights.

To support this appeal, please click here:

------------------------------------------------------

Suggested letter:


Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: No investigation after Piliyandala police assault a man

Name of victim: Mr. Muthuthanthrige Sampath Sisira Kumara Priyantha Fernando (27), unmarried, driver, resident of No. 19, Athkam nivasa, Madakissa road, Horethuduwa, Keselwatte
Alleged perpetrators: Two unidentified police officers from the Piliyandala police station, Mt. Lavinia Dist. I, Mt. Lavinia Division
Date of incident: 27 September 2007
Place of incident: In the parking lot in front of the Moratuwa police station

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the assault of Muthuthanthrige Sampath Sisira Kumara Priyantha Fernando (27), by the Piliyandala police.

According to the information received, on 27 September 2007, Priyantha Fernando had parked the three-wheeler in the parking lot in front of the Moratuwa police stations as usual. Two persons came and demanded that they wanted to hire his vehicle to go to Katubeddha. When Priyantha Fernando refused their request they became aggressive and gripped his neck. Then, they pulled back and forth and pushed it to the bar of the three-wheeler. While one person squeezed his neck, the other took out the copy of his original Identity card.
 
I am informed that while they were attacking the victim, the owner of the three-wheeler Umesh Indika came and they put Umesh Indika inside a van and drove away. The victim went to the Moratuwa police station to make a complaint, however, the police refused to record the complaint. 

I am also informed that the next day when the victim went to the Panadura North police station with his mother to make the complaint the police denied to record the complaint and asked them to go to the Moratuwa police station. When they went to the Moratuwa police station they were told again to go to the Panadura North police station.

On September 29, the victim and his mother again went to the Piliyandala police to make a complaint but the Officer in charge of the Piliyandala Police and the Officer in-charge of Crime Branch of the Piliyandala police were scolded by using foul language and threatened that the victim would be killed. On the same day victim was admitted to the Kalubowila hospital for treatment suffered in the attack. The victim has informed to the doctors that he had been assaulted by the police. The doctor prescribed that the left nerve on his neck had been damaged so that he wears a plaster case on the neck for about one month.

It was only possible for the victim to lodge a complaint after a letter which was given by Ranjan de Mel, the coordination officer of Minister Jeewan Kumarathunga was delivered to the Assistant Superintend of Police (ASP) at the Moratuwa police station on October 2. As a result of the attack, the victim now is in a difficult situation of turning his neck freely and doing his job for a living.

I am also informed that the victim has informed this incident to the authorities for their intervention however to-date no proper action has been taken.

Therefore, I urge you to conduct an immediate and impartial investigation and inquiry into the victim's complaint against the Piliyandala police without further delay and take legal or disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrators. I also urge you to afford the victim adequate compensation for the physical consequences he has suffered and continues to suffer as a result of the police assault. I further urge you to study and find out the main reason of police' denial of receiving a complaint at the police station.

I earnestly look forward to your prompt action into this matter.


Yours sincerely,


---------------
 
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

2.  Mr. C.R. De Silva
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net

3. 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

4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
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. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-312-2007
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.