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SRI LANKA: Rattota police mishandle case of child rape victim

November 26, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

26 November 2007
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UA-330-2007: SRI LANKA: Rattota police mishandle case of child rape victim

SRI LANKA: Rape; child rights; violence against women
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding how the police at Rattota in Sri Lanka failed to collect vital evidence concerning the rape of a child in Matale on 8 November 2007. Furthermore, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) made the suspect of rape sit in front of the minor while he interrogated them together, during which time the suspect denied the allegation. The minor was once again victimised by the OIC due to the improper method of investigation. Unlike normal procedure with regards to rape case, the police did not arrest the suspect and to date no investigation has been conducted.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the testimony from the victim's grandmother)
  
Ms. X, 13-year-old is a student at a school in Matale (detailed information withheld for security reasons). She lives with her father, grandmother, uncle, two sisters and a brother. Her mother has gone to the Middle East for an employment. It was the Deepavali day, 'Festival of light' on 8 November 2007. The minor was at home since her whole family had gone to another house to watch TV programmes.

According to the information received, when she stayed alone, Mr. Jeevaratnam, a 43-year-old neighbor, had come to the minor's house after he consumed alcohol at around 3pm. As soon as he entered the house, he locked the door and closed the windows. Jeevaratnam threatened her to keep quite with a knife and forced the minor to drink the alcohol he brought. When the minor started shouting, Jeevaratnam put a cloth in her mouth and dragged her to the mat. Jeevaratnam forced her to lie down on the floor and raped her. According to the victim, when she regained consciousness after an hour, she found her clothes were torn out and removed, and felt serious pain in her stomach.

Some time later, her grandmother came in and discovered the smell of alcohol from the victim and started beating her for taking it while questioning her. The victim then rushed to next door and disclosed what happened to her to the neighbors.

The victim's family and neighbors then took her to the Rottota police station and reported to a Women Police Constable (WPC) who knew the Tamil language. Then the WPC requested her to return the next day.

On November 9, when she went to the police station by the request of the WPC, the OIC from the police station questioned the victim and family members. At the same time, other police brought Jeevaratnam to the police station and positioned him in front of the victim. Then, the police interrogated them together. The suspect totally denied the allegation made by the victim. The victim was once again victimised by the police during interrogation who were insensitive to the victim's mental and physical chaos.

Soon after some police officers took the victim to the Rottota hospital but the hospital refused to admit her with saying that they did not have doctors to conduct an examination to ascertain as to whether or not she was raped.

Then, the police brought the victim to the Matale hospital and warded her till 15 November 2007. After the victim was discharged, she was taken to the police station by the request of the police. On November 16, she lodged a complaint (Complaint No. 256/157 C.I.B (1))

Now the minor is getting counseling support with the help of an NGO. It is reported that she is very afraid of going to the police station to make a statement due to the police's improper interrogation. In a normal procedure with regards to rape case, the police usually arrest a suspect with a non-bailable charge and investigate. However, unlike this case, the police did not follow this procedure and now the suspect is free and to date the police did not start investigation.

The AHRC is concerned by the improper interrogation and actions taken by the OIC of the Rottota police station. Given to the fact that the minor was allegedly raped, she is utmost physical and psychological vulnerable as well as minor. However, the OIC neglected her condition by making the suspect sit in front of the minor and interrogating them together. The police had to bring the minor to a hospital as quickly as they were informed this incident in getting medical evidence however, they failed to take proper action. The AHRC is also gravely concerned that to date no investigation has been conducted against the suspect.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to start an investigation into the rape case without delay and improper method of interrogation made by the police. Please also urge them to proper action against the OIC of the Rottota police station if prove true and to improve the method of interrogation.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Rattota police mishandle case of child rape victim

Name of victim: Ms. X (victim's name withheld for security reason), 13 years old, year 7 in school in Rattota, Matale
Name of alleged perpetrator: Officer in charge of Rattota Police station, Matale Dist. II, Matale Division, Central Range (West)
Date of incident: 8 November 2007
Place of incident: in the premises of Rattota police station

I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the ways of interrogation conducted by the police against a minor who was allegedly raped by a neighbour in Matale on 8 November 2007.

According to the information received, when the minor was at home alone, at 3pm on the day, Mr. Jeevaratnam (43) came to her house after being drunk and forced her to drink an alcohol he brought. While the minor started shouting, Jeevaratnam put clothes in her mouth and threatened with a knife and raped her. When the minor was conscious after an hour, she found her clothes torn out and felt serious pain in her stomach.

I am informed that the minor went to the Rattota police station to make a complaint but Women Police Constable asked her to come next day without admitting her to the hospital. When the minor went to the said police station again on next day, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the police station brought Jeevaratnam and questioned him in front of the victim, which the suspect totally denied. Afterward only the police took her to the Matale hospital and admitted her. However no information whether the suspect was remanded or further investigated has given to the family of the victim.
 
I am concerned by the improper interrogation and actions taken by the OIC of the Rattota police station. Given to the fact that the minor was allegedly raped, she is utmost physical and psychological vulnerable as well as minor. However, the OIC neglected her condition by making the suspect sit in front of the minor and interrogating them together. The police had to bring the minor to a hospital as soon as they were informed this incident in getting medical evidence however, they failed to take proper action. I am gravely concerned that to date no investigation has been conducted against the suspect.

I therefore, urge you to conduct an investigation into the improper method of interrogation and actions taken by the OIC. Legal or disciplinary action must be taken. I also urge you to provide full medical support to the victim and inform the progress of complaint to her family. I further urge you to start investigation against the suspect without delay. I finally urge you to train them the way of dealing with such a case and improve the method of interrogation after thorough studying the general practice taken by the police.

I look forward to your prompt intervention in this case.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS 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. 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

3. Chairperson
National Child Protection Authority
330, Thalawathgoda Road
Madiwella
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 778975
E-mail: ncpa@childprotection.gov.lk

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

5. 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

6. Bo Viktor Nylun
Head of Child Protection
UNICEF Sri Lanka
P.O. Box 143, Colombo
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 551 333

7. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
Room 3-042
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-330-2007
Countries :
Issues :
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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.