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SRI LANKA: Tortured army officer complains to Bar Association of Sri Lanka after his lawyers withdraw case

July 2, 2004

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

2 July 2004
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UA-79-2004: SRI LANKA: Tortured army officer complains to Bar Association of Sri Lanka after his lawyers withdraw case

SRI LANKA: Independence of lawyers; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the defense lawyer of R.K.L.G. Dingiri Banda who had filed a Fundamental Rights application before the Supreme Court in 2004, withdrew the case against the victim's wishes during the case hearing in the Supreme Court on 28 June 2004. The victim, Dingiri Banda, alleged that two superior officers subjected him to severe torture and he had filed a Fundamental Rights application before the Supreme Court in 2001.

On 30 June 2004, the victim made a complaint to the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka regarding this matter. In his complaint, the victim stated that he felt the assigned lawyer was partial toward the respondent officers and tried to get them pay him 100,000 rupees (about US$977), which he refused to take.

The alleged act by the attorney is a violation of the fundamental human rights of this person to obtain legal redress. It has also obstructed a victim of torture from pursuing his complaint before the appropriate Court in Sri Lanka. AHRC calls for you to write a letter to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and request them to intervene in this matter without delay. Please also demand them to take strong action against the lawyer concerned.

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

Victim: R.K.L.G. Dingiri Banda, a lieutenant of the Sri Lankan Army allegedly tortured by two superior officers
Complaint lodged against: The attorney at law who was assigned by the Human Right Centre of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and appeared for the victim in his Fundamental Rights application to the Supreme Court
Date of incident: 28 June 2004

Case details:

The victim, R.K.L.G. Dingiri Banda, alleged that two superior officers subjected him to severe torture. He filed a Fundamental Rights application before the Supreme Court in 2001, SC FR 24/2001 (Special). On 30 June 2004, he made a complaint in writing to the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka that the lawyer who appeared for him had withdrawn the case, despite his express instructions not to come to any settlement, but to proceed to inquiry before the Supreme Court. Dingiri Banda alleged in his letter, supported by an affidavit and other documents, that the lawyer assigned by the Human Right Centre of the Bar Association had withdrawn the case when it was before the Supreme Court on June 28. Dingiri Banda further states that he felt the assigned lawyer was partial towards the respondent officers, and had repeatedly instructed him that he had no intention to settle the matter and wanted the case to be heard by the Supreme Court.

Among the supporting documents, on 25 March 2004, Dingiri Banda had written a letter to his attorney, sent by express registered post, stating that he would not agree to any form of settlement and that he wanted a judgement from the Supreme Court after an inquiry. He has also handed over a copy of the letter by hand, and copies of the registered letter had been sent to the President of the Bar Association, the instructing attorney, and the Human Rights Centre of the Bar Association.

Dingiri Banda further states that on 28 June 2004, he met his attorney again in the morning and gave a verbal instruction again to proceed to an inquiry, and the attorney had promised to do so. However, when the case was taken up Dingiri Banda was at the back of the Court and his attorney made some submissions in English, which he neither heard properly nor understood. After that, the attorney met with the two respondents and tried to get the respondents to give Dingiri Banda Rs. 100,000 (about US$ 977), which he has refused.

Dingiri Banda has stated that the action of his attorney deprived him of his right to proceed with his application and get redress against the serious torture he has suffered at the hands of the respondents. He has asked the Bar Association to inquire into the matter and take disciplinary against the lawyer. He has also requested the Bar Association to take appropriate action to restore his case for argument before the Supreme Court. He has further asked the Bar Association to request an inquiry into possible fraud done by his lawyer by requesting the Fraud Bureau of the Sri Lankan Police to conduct a criminal investigation into the matter. Dingiri Banda has also complained in writing to the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka about this matter.

The alleged act by the attorney is a violation of the fundamental human rights of this person to obtain legal redress. It has also obstructed a victim of torture from pursuing his complaint before the appropriate Court in Sri Lanka.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and request them to intervene in this matter and take strong action against the lawyer concerned without delay.

Suggested Letter:

Dear ____________,

Re: SRI LANKA: Tortured army officer complains to Bar Association of Sri Lanka after his lawyers withdraw case

Victim: R.K.L.G. Dingiri Banda, a lieutenant of the Sri Lankan Army allegedly tortured by two superior officers
Complaint lodged against: The attorney at law who was assigned by the Human Right Centre of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka and appeared for the victim in his Fundamental Rights application to the Supreme Court
Date of incident: 28 June 2004

I find it absolutely beyond its comprehension that a lawyer assigned to defend the rights of a litigant could act against the expressed wishes of the litigant and betray his case. The situation is even worse as the litigant is a victim of very serious torture. The fact that his case was on the basis of violation of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of Sri Lanka makes a situation even worse.

Therefore, I urge that Bar Association of Sri Lanka inquiry into this matter as soon as possible and take an appropriate action to make it possible for this victim of torture to pursue his case and find legal redress. I also urge that serious action be taken against the lawyer concerned for the violation of his professional obligations and betrayal of trust placed on him as a member of the legal profession.

Your urgent intervention is required in this matter.



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Send a letter to:

Ikram Mohamad P.C.
President
Bar Association Of Sri Lanka
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 448090
Email: basl@eureka.lk

Send a copy to:

1. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
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

2. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Representative on the Independence of judges and lawyers
OHCHR-UNOG, Palais Wilson,
Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 9175727
Fax: +41 22 9179006

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-79-2004
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.