Home / News / Urgent Appeals / SRI LANKA: Tortured to Death; the case of S.L. Kulatunga tortured by some officers of the Nivithigala Police Station
 

SRI LANKA: Tortured to Death; the case of S.L. Kulatunga tortured by some officers of the Nivithigala Police Station

November 13, 2003

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

13 November 2003
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UA-72-2003: SRI LANKA: Tortured to Death; the case of S.L. Kulatunga tortured by some officers of the Nivithigala Police Station

SRI LANKA: Torture; Custodial Death
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that S.L. Kulatunga had serious head injuries after being tortured by the Nivithigala police and died at the Genral Hospital of Colombo on 12 November 2003.

After his death, thousands of persons gathered around the police station to express their anger about his death. According to the past experience of similar instances, the people are worrying that the police will hush up the case in the end and the perpetrators will not be punished. Your urgent action is required to correct this matter immediately.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
-------------------------------------------------------------------

DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: S.L. Kulatunga
Name of the perpetrator: Some Officers of the Nivithigala Police Station
Date of incident: 10 November 2003

Case details:

On 12 November 2003, S.L. Kulatunga, who was arrested with another person by the Nivithigala police was hospitalized with serious head injuries and died at the General Hospital of Colombo.

The victim was arrested by four persons in civilian clothes. He was arrested with another person who was later released. At the police station he was assaulted and suffered serious head injuries. Later he was admitted to the Watupityi Hospital on the 11 November. He was then transferred to the General Hospital in Colombo where he died on the 12 November.

The assault on this person provoked an area-wide protest when thousands of persons gathered around the police srtation, cut down trees, barricaded the road and burnt tires to express their anger. The protesters, reported to be about one thousand persons, also gathered around the hospital where the victim was warded to protest.

The police authorities have transferred four police officers and promised inquiries. However, past experience of similar instances show that though some actions are taken to calm down the crowds who protest immediately after the incident, what generally happens is that high ranking police officers manipulate inquiries to try and protect the culprits.

On the 6 November 2003, the UN Human Rights Committee in their concluding observations made the following recommendations (among several other recommendations):

'The State party should adopt legislative and other measures to prevent such violations, in keeping with articles 2, 7 and 9 of the Covenant, and ensure effective enforcement of the legislation. It should ensure in particular that allegations of crimes committed by state security forces, especially allegations of torture, abduction and illegal confinement, are investigated promptly and effectively with a view to prosecuting perpetrators. The National Police Commission complaints procedure should be implemented as soon as possible. The authorities should diligently enquire into all cases of suspected intimidation of witnesses and establish a witness protection program in order to put an end to the climate of fear that plagues the investigation and prosecution of such cases The capacity of the National Human Rights Commission to investigate and prosecute alleged human rights violations should be strengthened.'

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the local authorities and express your concern of this serious case.

1. Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
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 11 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net

3. Mr. Shaveendra Fernando
Senior State Counsel
Torture Prosecution Unit
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 327 765

4. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 669 128 (need to ask to change to fax mode) / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148

5. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Director
National 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. 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

7. Ms. Asma Jahangir
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: 92 42 5763 234
Fax: 41 22 917 9006 / 92 42 5763 236
Email: webadmin.hchr@unog.ch / asmalaw@brain.net.pk


Sample letter:

Dear

Re: Tortured to Death; the Case of S.L. Kulatunga who was Tortured by some Officers of the Nivithigala Police Station

Name of the victim: S.L. Kulatunga
Name of the perpetrator: Some Officers of the Nivithigala Police Station
Date of incident: 10 November 2003

I am writing to condemn the killing of this victim by a number of policemen.

Judging by the reports received regularly from human rights organizations, custodial deaths are a common occurrence in Sri Lanka. Though complaints are made about serious acts of torture constantly the Sri Lankan authorities have failed to take any serious action on such cases. The allegation that high ranking police officers act in a manner to cover up such cases makes the situation even worse and there is no deterrence to stop such activities perpetrated by the police.

I urge you to intervene in this matter and to ensure that genuine inquiries are conducted as urgently as possible and that the perpetrators be brought to justice. I also bring to your notice the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Committee on the 6 November in their General Comments on the Report of the Government of Sri Lanka the said Committee.

On the 6 November, the UN Human Rights Committee in their concluding observations made the following recommendations (among several other recommendations):

'The State party should adopt legislative and other measures to prevent such violations, in keeping with articles 2, 7 and 9 of the Covenant, and ensure effective enforcement of the legislation. It should ensure in particular that allegations of crimes committed by state security forces, especially allegations of torture, abduction and illegal confinement, are investigated promptly and effectively with a view to prosecuting perpetrators. The National Police Commission complaints procedure should be implemented as soon as possible. The authorities should diligently enquire into all cases of suspected intimidation of witnesses and establish a witness protection program in order to put an end to the climate of fear that plagues the investigation and prosecution of such cases The capacity of the National Human Rights Commission to investigate and prosecute alleged human rights violations should be strengthened.'

Thank you for your attention.



-----------------------------


Thank you.

Kim Soo A
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-72-2003
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.