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SRI LANKA: Victim dies after severe torture by the Maharagama police in Colombo District

April 19, 2005

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

20 April 2005
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UA-64-2005: SRI LANKA: Victim dies after severe torture by the Maharagama police in Colombo District

SRI LANKA: Extra-judicial killings; Torture; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the killing of a Mr. Don Wijerathna Munasinghe by the Maharagama police in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Mr. Munasinghe was arrested for a petty traffic offense on 10 April 2005 and severely tortured by the police. He succumbed to his injuries and died at the South Colombo Teaching Hospital at Kalubovila on April 16. No attempt has yet been made to arrest the perpetrators responsible for the victim's torture and death.

This is yet another example of the appalling police brutality that continues in Sri Lanka. We urge you to urgently intervene in this case to deliver justice to the victim's family. Please also urge the Government of Sri Lanka to take genuine steps to stop the common practice of torture and murder by the police throughout the country.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Don Wijerathna Munasinghe, 49 years old
Address of the victim: No. 05, Pasal Mawatha, Niwanthidiya, Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alleged perpetrators: Police officers attached to the Maharagama Police Station
Date of incident: 10-11 April 2005

Case details:

Mr. Don Wijerathna Munasinghe was arrested by police officers from the traffic branch of the Maharagama Police Station in Colombo District, Sri Lanka at the clock tower of Maharagama Junction at around 5:00pm on 10 April 2005. At the time, he was driving his three-wheeler with his wife and his son, one of his three children.

According to Mr. Munasinghe, he was arrested because he was not able to stop his vehicle as soon as the police officers indicated that he should do so. Mr. Munasinghe's wife states that at the middle of the round-about (Watarauma) her husband was not able to stop the three-wheeler safely and so he had to stop the vehicle on the road.

However, Mr. Munasinghe was brutally assaulted by the arresting police officers by fists and boots in front of his wife and son. His wife and son pleaded with the police not to assault the victim as he was suffering from heart disease. However, they ignored their pleas and continued their assault. Finally, they pushed him into his three-wheeler in which they brought him to the Maharagama Police Station.  At the police station, Mr. Munasinghe was again severely assaulted by the police officers.

Mr. Munasinghe's wife reported that early the following morning (April 11) at around 1:50am, she was called by the Maharagama police to come to the police station in the morning and take her husband. At around 6:45am, the police called her again and asked her to "immediately come and take the husband to the house." She went to the police station but had to wait until the Officer in Charge (OIC) arrived at 10:30am. The police then released Mr. Munasinghe on bail. Police officers also went to their home and handed over the three-wheeler to the wife.

When he arrived at home, Mr. Munasinghe explained to his family how he was severely assaulted by the police officers. He said that the police assaulted him with wicket poles all over his body. Despite his serious injuries, the victim was reluctant to go to the hospital out of fear. His family first gave him medicine like Panadol, but as his condition worsened, they brought the victim to a private medical officer in Piliyandala.

Later Mr. Munasinghe was admitted to the South Colombo Teaching Hospital at Kalubovila. There he was treated in ward 26 and 5. He was transferred to the intensive care unit of the said hospital as there was blood in his urine. His wife saw a lot of dark blue marks on her husband's body, which were a result of severe torture administered by the police officers, as well as other injuries on his hands, face, thighs, legs, back and other places.

Mr. Munasinghe died in the evening of 16 April 2005. He was survived by his wife and three children; Don Rasika Munasinghe (24), Don Yamuna Sandamalee Munasinghe (21) and Don Manoj Mahanama Munasinghe (16).

This is yet another example of the appalling police brutality that continues in Sri Lanka. The AHRC strongly urges the Government of Sri Lanka to order a thorough investigation into this case and bring those responsible for the torture and killing to court. The Government of Sri Lanka must take genuine steps to stop the common practice of torture and murder by the police.


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the relevant authorities addressed below and express your concern about this serious case.

Sample letter:

Dear ________,

Re: SRI LANKA: Victim dies after severe torture by the Maharagama police in Colombo District

Name of the victim: Don Wijerathna Munasinghe, 49 years old
Address of the victim: No. 05, Pasal Mawatha, Niwanthidiya, Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alleged perpetrators: Police officers attached to the Maharagama Police Station
Date of incident: 10-11 April 2005

I am shocked to hear about another extra judicial killing by police torture in Sri Lanka.  Such killings are regularly reported to me now.  However, I regret to see that all attempts to bring the government to take notice of this situation and to take remedial action have not produced any concrete results.  I have learnt that already 25 cases of extra judicial killings have been reported only in the south area of Sri Lanka.  

In this instance, Mr. Munasinghe was arrested for only an alleged petty traffic offense, yet he was subsequently died as a result of torture. No attempt has been made to arrest the perpetrators of the victim's torture and murder, which happened inside the police station. 

I therefore urge you to take immediate action to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to court.  I also urge the Government of Sri Lanka, who at international forums condemns torture, to implement that policy by way of genuine practical measures.  It is alarming to think that if this routine practice goes on in the coming few weeks, more will die or be seriously injured by persons who have the duty to protect citizens and to enforce law. 

Yours sincerely,


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SEND A LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
Prime Minister
Temple Trees
Galle Road, Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 543938-42 / 437676
Fax: +94 11 2 384916
E-mail: pm_sec@slt.lk

2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net

3. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877

4. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairperson
National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 669 528
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk 

5. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
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

6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)

7.  Mr. Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Summary or Arbitrary Executions
Attention: Lydie Ventre
Room 3-016
C/o OHCHR- UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel: +41229179155
Fax: +41 229179006 (general)
Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-64-2005
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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.