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SRI LANKA: Torture of 17 Year Old Boy

August 11, 2003

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

11 August 2003

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UA-39-2003: SRI LANKA: Torture of 17 year old boy


SRI LANKA: Torture; illegal arrest; illegal detention
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Dear Friends

Brutal Torture of a 17 year old and others, causing permanent injuries; Illegal arrest; Illegal detention for 8 days

Victim: B.G. Chamila Bandara Jayaratne of 166 Godahena, Dolapihilla (17 years old), educated up to 11th grade

Dates of incident: from 20 July to 28 July 2003

Perpetrators: Several Police Officers from Ankumbura Police Station and Gramma Arraksaka

Details: (based on the statement from the victim and his mother)

Around 4.30-5.00pm, the Gramma Arraksaka came to the victim's house. At the time there was no one else in the house. He asked the victim to come with him. When the victim tried to close the house before leaving, the Gramma Arraksaka took the key from the victim, closed the house himself, and kept the key. The victim was taken to a place where a police jeep was waiting. There, Sergeant Pathnesiri took hold of the victim and gave him several blows, saying, "you have scolded someone who has helped us to catch some thieves."

The victim was hit hard on the face and the body about ten times. Then he was put in handcuffs. When the victim was taken to the police jeep, he saw one of his cousins, (named Upali) who had also been brought to the place by a police officer. Two of the officers in the jeep were in uniform. One police officer kept the butt of a gun on Upali’s head and said, "you tell the truth, otherwise we will kill him." One Bandula Pathmakumara, (14 years old), was already in the police jeep. Then they were taken to the Ankumbura police station. They got to the police station at about 6pm. The Inspector of Police Senevirathna held the victim, bent his head, and hit him very hard on his spine. Then he hit the victim on his face with his boots and pushed his head against the wall.

Then the victim was taken to a hall inside the police station, and the handcuffs on one hand were removed and clipped to a bed. The victim was verbally abused in crude language and was told by the same police officer that he, the officer, would come at about twelve and if the victim didn't tell the truth, he would learn a lesson. The next day (21 July), the officer in charge of the police station came to where the victim was and told him to tell the truth or he would be assaulted. When he said this, the officer who initially arrested the victim was also present.

Then the victim was taken to another place. There was a bed, and the officer-in-charge (OIC) asked the victim to remove his shirt and lie face down on the bed. There were several officers present, including the ones who were there at the time of the arrest. One person, whose name the victim does not know, and who was not wearing a uniform, sat on the victim's back. Someone held tight onto his legs. Then the OIC and another officer hit the soles of his feet. The OIC hit the victim with a wicket (used in cricket) and the other officer hit the victim with a cane. He was told to reveal the thefts he had done. He said that he didn’t know anything about any theft. Even after that, the victim was continuously hit on the soles of his feet. Then petrol was put into a polythene bag and poured out, after which the polythene bag was tied onto his face. Then he was told that if he didn't tell the truth, he would be burned. He was hit for about one hour more. He was told to get off the bed and to keep jumping, but because he did not jump high enough, the OIC hit him with a pole. He said that he didn’t know about any thefts. Then the OIC said that no one knew that the victim had been arrested and, called out, "let us kill him." Then he told the others to hang the victim up.

Then they put the victim's hands behind his back and tied his thumbs together with a string, then they put a fiber string between his thumbs and hung the victim from a beam on the ceiling. One officer pulled the fiber string so that the victim was raised from the ground. When the victim was raised his hands turned and they became numb. Then the OIC kept hitting the victim on his legs and soles with the cricket wicket. He hit the victim on his thighs, and while hitting me in this manner, he asked the victim who his friends were. Because of the extreme pain he was experiencing, the victim said "One is Roshan Deepal and the other is Salier." Because of the unbearable pain he said "though I did not do any thefts I am willing to admit anything." Then he asked the police to cut him down and to untie him. The OIC said "That won’t do. Till you tell us about all the thefts you have done, one by one, we will keep you hanging - we will tie a stone on your legs."

The OIC asked the victim whether or not he went to remove the water motor at Kahattagusthanna. Then the OIC asked whether the victim had participated in the theft from the house near the Muslim Mosque. Because the victim did not want to get more beatings, he said 'yes'. Then the OIC asked the victim where he had sold the water motor. The victim said "to the DSI shop at Pujapitiya." This was not true, because the victim had never done anything like that, but said that he had only answered in agreement because of the pain.

The victim further said that some shirts which he had said had been given to him by his uncle, and a watch he himself had brought, were in fact stolen goods. And there was an incident where one Asaila had given him some jewelry for mortgaging in order to get some money to take his wife to hospital. These and the other crimes the victim mentioned were carried out by the victim. He did them all in an attempt to escape this unbearable situation.

The police officers then told the victim that they would take him to a jewelry shop at Ambagahathanna. He was told that he should say that two rings and a chain had been stolen by him and given to the third jewelry shop. He was taken down, one hand put in handcuffs, and put on a bed. After about half an hour, four police officers put the victim and another person in a jeep and took them to Salier and put Salier also in the jeep. Salier asked the victim why he endured all this and did not say anything. Then they were all taken to Ambathanna. The police pointed towards someone and told the victim to say that he had given the stolen items to him. It was again threatened that the victim would be hung up by one hand. The victim did as he was told. He didn’t know the person at all, but that person was also taken to the police station. This person was put in a police cell and Salier was put on a bed. The victim later learned that Roshan was also brought to the police station. The victim was brought face to face with these persons and asked whether they had also engaged in the robberies. Because of fear, the victim did not dare answer. Also on that day, the victim was handcuffed and told that he could be made a state witness if he said that the other two had committed the thefts. The victim was told not to tell anyone that the police had beaten him up. If a doctor asked, the victim was told to say that his hands got tied to handcuffs and have become numb. The victim was told that if he mentioned anything about the torture, there would be trouble in the future. The OIC said that "everything is in our hands" and "don’t get things messed up."

On 25 July, one old man came and put ointment on the victim's hands and Sergeant Gunaseina and another person were present at that time. That night, the victim was put inside the police cell. On 26 July, the same person put ointment on the victim again. That day, they also tied some medicinal herbs on the victim's hands. On 27June, Upali, Saman, Salier, Bandula and the victim had their fingerprints taken. After that, they were made to sign in the middle of a page following three or four empty pages. The victim signed as Chamila. At about 6pm they were all taken near to the Ankumbura Hospital and while they waited in the police jeep, police officers went to see the doctor and brought some papers back to them. They were not taken to the doctor.

Later they were taken to the magistrate’s official house, which is near the Kandy lake. The police told the magistrate something and then they were taken to the Bogumbara prison hospital where Salier and Upali were detained. Three others and the victim were taken to the remand prisons at Rajayagahavithiya. Later the victim learned that while he was in prison, his mother had come to see him, but she had not been allowed to see him.

On 30July the victim was brought to the courts and Nanda Senanayaka, an attorney-at-law, appeared for him. The victim was given ten thousand rupees surety bail. He was ordered to go to the Ankumbura police and sign his name every Sunday. On 31 July, he entered a hospital in Kandy and was under treatment for six days. The doctors told him that a nerve in his left hand had been stretched. He told the doctors that he had been beaten up by the police. His legs were swollen, his hands were numb, and he had headaches. A complaint was made to the hospital police. They asked the victim to go and make a complaint to the Ankumbura police station. This is the same police station where he was assaulted.

Even now, victim cannot use his left arm. The police have falsely implicated him in a case. The date of the next hearing is 20 August 2003.


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SUGGESTED ACTION - SEND LETTERS/EMAILS/FAXES TO:

1 Chandrika B. Kumaritunga
President
Presidential Residence, Colombo 3,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +941 333 703

2 Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net

3 Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 1 691 926
Fax HOME: +94-1-674-148


4 National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 1 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 1 694 924
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

5 Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917-9016
E-mail: secrt.hchr@unog.ch

and at:

International Relations
Maastricht University
The Netherlands
Tel. 31-43-3883233 (Assistant: Chantal Kuipers)
Email : th.vanboven@ir.unimaas.nl

6 Mr. Jean Nicolas Beuze
Room 3-052
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais Wilson,

Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
Switzerland
tel: 41 229179174
fax: 41 22 9179 006
email: jnbeuze.hchr@unog.ch


SUGGESTED LETTER:

Dear Sir

Case of B.G. Chamila Bandara Jayaratne (17 yrs old)

Brutal Torture of a 17 year old and others, causing permanent injuries; Illegal arrest ; Illegal detention for 8 days by the ANKUMBURA Police

I am writing to protest against this brutal torture of a young person. The case is only one more addition to a cruel practice that is being allowed to go on in police stations. We urge you to investigate, arrest, and prosecute the offenders. Please issue special instruction of arrests, particularly of children. We strongly urge you to discipline the police so that they desist from torture, from the fabrication of cases, and from registering false cases.

We also urge that the Sri Lankan government provide medical assistance to this young person so that he may have treatment for the permanent injury caused to his left arm as a result of being hung up by his thumbs and tortured.

Please take some genuine steps to stop torture.

Yours faithfully




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Thank you.

PAMELA APPS
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-39-2003
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.