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SRI LANKA: Innocent man victimised by illegal arrest and detention due to unlawful police malpractice of misrepresenting suspect's identity in court

November 9, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

9 November 2006
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UA-366-2006: SRI LANKA: Innocent man victimised by illegal arrest and detention due to unlawful police malpractice of misrepresenting suspect's identity in court 

SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest and detention; poor practice of verifying identify of suspect in court; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an innocent man in Galle, Sri Lankan was illegal arrested and detained for 3 days because the police misrepresented his identity in court. More shockingly, the second magistrate, who was informed this fact, did not release him but kept him in remand until the next date of the case. Now, the victim is receiving severe threats from the police due to his complaint to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Galle.  In Sri Lanka, it is common practice that the police 'smuggle in' innocent people on behalf of the real suspects.

At around 11:30pm on 2 October 2006, two police constables (PCs) from the Akmeemana police station visited the house of Mr. Rasurajah (32), a Tamil ethnic labourer in a tea estate residing in Talgampola, Galle, Sri Lanka. They were in civilian clothes and came in a vehicle belonging to the Rathgama police. They knocked at the door and when it was opened said they had a warrant. However, they did not specify for what reason the warrant was issued. The two policemen then searched the entire house.

Then, a Sub Inspector (SI) of the Rathgama police walked up to Mr. Rasurajah and grabbed him by his shirt collar. Mr. Rasurajah saw that several others with T-56 guns were staring at him menacingly. They then dragged him to the police vehicle and forced him into it. According to Mr. Rasurajah, the police then went to the estate superintendent's house where the SI and another alighted from the jeep inside for a little while. A little while later they returned and left the place. 

Mr. Rasurajah further said that the policemen drove to several other houses before finally taking him to the Akmeemana police station. He was then locked inside a cell, where he was detained for the remainder of that day and the entire following day without being given any food or water. He was not also informed why he was arrested and detained.

On October 4, the Akmeemana police took Mr. Rasurajah to the Galle Magistrate's Court and requested that case No69431 be taken up, which was done outside court and inside the Magistrate's chambers. The police produced him before the magistrate and had proclaimed, "We arrested the surety on a warrant". Mr. Rasurajah did not understand what the police said. But the Magistrate without uttering a word to him and without any further ado, ordered that he be released on surety bail of Rs 100,000 (USD 933) and fixed the case for 6 December 2006. However, as there was no one to pose bail for him, he was remanded.

When Mr. Rasurajah was handed over to the remand authority, after inspecting the relevant documents presented to them, the remand officials refused to accept him into their custody insisting the papers related to another person. They informed this to an interpreter of the court but by that time the magistrate had already left his chambers. They then referred the case to another magistrate who told Mr. Rasurajah that the police had caused an injustice to him and had produced him in court misrepresenting his identity as one "M. Selliah". This magistrate then told him to 'look around' and see whether he could find anyone who could act as surety on his behalf. When he said that there was no such person, the magistrate still remanded him until the next date of the case.

On 6 October 2006 Mr. Rasurajah was released. Ironically on both occasions in magistrate court, he had retained a lawyer paying Rs. 1500 (USD 14) per appearance but this lawyer failed to bring these matters to the attention of court. As a result Mr. Rasurajah was unjustly detained over three days.

After being released, Mr. Rasurajah complained about his case to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Galle. However, he is now receivng death threats from the Akmeemana police and no action has been taken against the responsible police officers. According to the victim, the Akmeemana police told him that if he pursued his complaint they would arrest him, falsely charge him with being an LTTEer (a Tamil armed insurgent) and kill him.  

Misrepresenting the identities of suspects when producing them in court is a common practice of the Sri Lanka police. This is allowed to take place because despite Sri Lankan citizens' identities are checked almost at every nook and corner, the magistrates rarely inquire or verify the identities of suspects produced by the police before issuing remand orders. This enables the police to surreptitiously 'smuggle in' innocent people on behalf of the real suspects, who the police are for whatever reason reluctant to so produce in court, and have them remanded. It is hard to believe that they are unaware of this rather popular practice of the police.

This incident also shows the unprofessional and unethical practices of some magistrate's court lawyers who collect high fees from their hapless clients but utterly fail in their responsibilities towards their clients in court.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Sri Lankan authorities listed below and urge them to take strong action against the officers responsible for the victim's illegal arrest & detention and for misleading court regarding his identity. Please also urge them to ensure that the Sri Lankan magistrate courts are instructed to verify the identities of suspects before remanding them into custody. The Sri Lankan Bar Association also need to take disciplinary action against the lawyer who despicably failed to perform his professional duties towards his client (the victim).

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

SRI LANKA: Innocent man victimized of illegal arrest and detention due to unlawful police practice to misrepresent people's identity in court 

Name of victim: Mr. Rasurajah, aged 32, Tamil ethnic Sri Lankan, married with 4 children; labourer in tea estate by occupation, residing in Talgampola, Galle, Sri Lanka
Alleged perpetrators: policemen attached to the Rathgama police station and the Akmeemana police station
Date of incident: 2 October 2006

I am very disturbed to learn that another innocent man was victimized by the police's malpractice of misrepresenting person's identity in court allegedly 'smuggle in' innocent people on behalf of the real suspects.  

According to the information I have received, at around 11:30pm on 2 October 2006, Mr. Rasurajah, 32, who is a Tamil ethnic Sri Lankan was arrested by police from the Akmeemana and Rathgama police stations. Two officers from the Akmeemana police station were in civilian clothes at the time of his arrest. Even though the police said that they had a warrant, they neither showed it to the victim nor informed him of the reason of his arrest. 

I was also informed that Mr. Rasurajah was illegally detained in the lock-up at the Akmeemana police station for over 24 hours in violation of the law. I am also extremely disappointed to learn that the victim was not given any food or even water for entire day on October 3. On October 4, when the victim was produced before the Galle Magistrate's Court by the Akmeemana police, the magistrate did not verified his identification and in fact even did not utter even a word to the victim. The victim was remanded as there was no one who could pose bail for him.

However, it was revealed by the remand authority officials that the papers brought with the victim related to another person. This was informed to the Galle Magistrates' Court and another magistrate in court confirmed the victim that the police had produced him in court misrepresenting his identity as one "M. Selliah". I am so shocked to learn that the magistrate still unjustly remanded the victim despite all these facts when he could not find anyone who could act as surety on his behalf. 

Mr. Rasurajah was released on 6 October 2006 and complained about his case to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Galle. However, he has reportedly received death threats from the Akmeemana police and no action has been taken against the responsible police officers. It is alleged that the Akmeemana police told him that if he pursued with his complaint they would arrest him, falsely charge him with being an LTTEer (a Tamil armed insurgent) and kill him. 

I am well aware that misrepresenting the identities of suspects when producing them in court is rather a common practice of the Sri Lanka police. These take place easily because the magistrates rarely inquire or verify the identities of suspects produced by the police before issuing remand orders. Therefore, the police surreptitiously 'smuggle in' innocent people on behalf of the real suspects and have them remanded.

In light of above, I strongly urge you to order an immediate and proper investigation into this case and take legal and disciplinary action against the officers of the Rathgama and Akmeemana police stations, who are responsible for the victim's illegal arrest & illegal detention and misleading court regarding his identity. I also urge you to take adequate action to ensure that Magistrates strictly verify the identities of suspects before remanding them into custody. I also urge you to provide effective protection to the victim and inquire about the alleged death threats by the Akmeemana police. The Office of the Inspector General of Police must take strong action to prevent this shocking malpractice by the police officers. Bar Association of Sri Lanka should seriously consider taking action against the lawyer who despicably failed to bring the matter of misrepresenting to the attention of court in two occasions. 

Yours truly,


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

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 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

5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
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 (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)



Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-366-2006
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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.