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SRI LANKA: A man severely tortured by the police officer at the Katugastota Police Station

October 5, 2003

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

6 October 2003

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UA-59-2003: SRI LANKA: A man severely tortured by the police officer at the Katugastota Police Station


SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest and detention; Torture
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man was severely tortured by the police officers after he was illegally arrested. Currently, the victim is in serious condition and his family has been threatened after they made a complaint to the police. Your urgent action is required to pressure the local authorities to correct this matter immediately.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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Name of the victim: Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan, 42, a cashier of a wine store (unemployed now);

Address of the victim: 35/3 A, Mapanawathura lane, Kandy

Period of detention and torture: from 6 September to 16 September 2003

Perpetrators: A sub-inspector and three "Grama Arakshaka [village security assistant]" officers (can be identified if seen) attached to the Katugastota Police Station

DETAILED INFORMATION:

On 6 September 2003, Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan, 42, a cashier of a wine store, was attacked by some unknown persons while he was carrying the money. The robbers put him inside a van and used some chemicals on his face, which made him unconscious.

When he regained his consciousness, Raman Pillai found himself inside a police jeep. Around 8:30pm, he was brought to the Katugastota police station and was questioned. Raman Pillai told the police that he was robbed. Around 9:30pm the owner of the wine store, the employer of the victim, arrived in the police station. After the owner talked to the police for about 10-15 minutes, the police accused Raman Pillai of stealing the money and while questioning, they assaulted him.

After the assault, Raman Pillai was put inside the police cell. Later the police took him to a doctor at Katugastota hospitala, and then to the district medical officer (DMO). After examining him, the DMO said that some chemicals like chloroform was used on him and the police should take the victim to a hospital with better technical facilities. However, the police brought Raman Pillai back to the police station and put him in a cell. Meanwhile, the police did not inform Raman Pillai's family about his arrest nor detention. The victim's family knew his arrest only at the noon of 7 September. When his wife visited the victim at the police station, she found that he could speak to her with great difficulty.

According to the victim, the police took him to the upstairs of the police station and removed his clothes. They ordered him to lie down and blindfolded his eyes. Then, they seriously beat him with something that the victim felt as a cane or a pole. The police had kept asking whether he took the money and where the money was. The police also threatened him that they would push him down from the upstairs and he would be killed. A police officer told him to tell the truth while hit the victim's soles and feet. After severely beating on the victim¡¦s soles, the police forced him to jump up and down. They also asked him to carry a police officer who was there and walk stamping his feet heavily on the ground.

A police officer also hit the victim's nose with a pole. He again forced the victim to lie down and three persons sat on his back tightly while he was again hit on the soles. Because it was so painful, Raman Pillai tried to get up but the persons who sat on him had held him tightly. He was not able to walk because of the severe pain. Raman Pillai recognized the persons who sat on him as the "Grama Arakshaka " officers [village security assistant].

Later, the police put the victim in the police cell. Then, the police forced him to sign a statement, which he did know nothing about and they did not explain anything about the document to him. The police later took him to the magistrate and the magistrate ordered the victim to be remanded. While he was in remand, the victim had difficulties in breathing and had a severe pain on his back and soles. He was bailed out only on 16 September 2003. He received medical treatment at a private medical clinic from 17 to 18 September. However, his condition became worse and he was hospitalized at the Peradeniya General Hospital on 22 September 2003. While the victim was in hospital, his family has received threats from some unknown persons, who are believed to be coerced by the perpetrators after they have complained to the police.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Send a letter, fax or email to the addresses below and express your concern of this serious case.

1 Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 2 682905
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk

2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 2 436 421
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 2 691 926
Fax HOME: +941 2 674148

4. National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 1 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 1 2 694 924
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

5. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur 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


Suggested letter:

Dear

Re: Illegal arrest and the torture of Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan by the police officers of the Katugastota Police Station

Name of the victim: Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan, 42, a cashier of a wine store (unemployed now)

Address of the victim: 35/3 A, Mapanawathura lane, Kandy

Period of detention and torture: from 6 September to 16 September 2003

Perpetrators: A sub-inspector and three "Grama Arakshaka [village security assistant]" officers (can be identified if seen) attached to the Katugastota Police Station

I am bringing to your attention the serious torture of Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan who was illegally arrested by the police officers attached to the Katugastota Police Station on 6 September 2003.

On 6 September 2003, Raman Pillai Kesam Nayar Ashokan, a cashier of a wine store, was robbed by some unknown persons while he was carrying the money. Even though he was a victim, the police accused him as a thief without any evidence and illegally arrested him. A sub-inspector and three Grama Arakshaka severely tortured the victim by beating him with a pole and hit his soles and feet until he was not able to walk. Also, allegedly the police officers attempted to fabricate the case by forcing him to sign the statement which he did know nothing about. After he was bailed on 16 September 2003, he was hospitalized and he is in serious condition. While he was in hospital, the victim's family has been threatened by some unknown persons, who are believed to be coerced by the perpetrators, after they have complained to the police.

This is one more case of serious torture done by the Sri Lankan police and it is disheartening to note that Sri Lankan authorities are not making any serious attempt to put an end to this barbaric and inhuman practice.

I urge you to order an immediate investigation of this case and to bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible. I also urge you to provide full medical treatment to the victim and ensure the security of the victim and his family. I further urge to the Sri Lankan government to change this attitude and to take genuine steps to stop the practice of torture by the police.


Sincerely yours,

 

 

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Thank you.

Kim Soo A

Urgent Appeals Programme

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-59-2003
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.