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SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest and torture of 22 year old Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda at the Katugastota Police Station

December 10, 2003

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

10 December 2003
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UA-80-2003: SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest and torture of 22 year old Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda at the Katugastota Police Station

SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest; Torture; Rule of law
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about another severe torture case from Kandy, Sri Lanka. According to the information received, Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda, 22, was severely tortured after being arrested by the police from the Katugastota Police Station on 7 December 2003. The police have not provided any medical treatment to the victim yet, nor have they produced him before a magistrate even though the Sri Lankan law requires that the police should produce any arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours. The victim is still in custody at the police station and his family is worrying that he will face further torture by 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: Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda (22 years old)
Alleged perpetrators: Some officers attached to the Katugastota Police Station
Period of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture: 7 December until now

Case details (Based on the statement of the victim's father P. M. Hemapala):

On 6 December 2003, police officer Hemantha and other police officers from the Katugastota Police Station came to the house of P. M. Hemapala in Pallewatta, Pitawala, Nawalapitiya and searched for his son Jeewantha, who was not at home at that time. They took Jeewantha's photo from the house and asked Hemapala to sign a statement which he knew nothing about. Then, the police officers requested him to bring his son to the Katugastota Police Station on Sunday, 7 December 2003. But Hemapala replied that Jeewantha could not go to the Katugastota Police Station because he was requested to report to the Kekirawa Police Station on Sunday. The police officers told him to bring his son to the police station on Sunday afternoon.

Around 11:00 am on 7 December 2003, Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda with his father went to report to the Kekirawa Police Station. The police kept him until 7:30 pm at the police station on the request of the Katugastota Police Station. Around 7:30 pm the police from the Katugastota arrested Jeewantha on suspicion of vehicle stealing and took him to the Katugastota Police Station. The victim's father followed them in a lorry.

Around 9:30 am of the next day (8 December), the victim's father went to the Katugastota Police Station to see his son. The victim had not been until Sunday morning. However, when the victim's brother Chandika went to the Katugastota Police Station to see his brother around 4.00 pm, he found out Jeewantha was severely beaten by the police. After he came back home, he informed it to his father.

Around 7:30 am on 9 December, the victim's father went to the police station. When he met his son, Jeewantha told his father that the police severely beat him and he vomited because of the torture. Then, the police officers took him to a private doctor on the evening of 8 December and the doctor gave a bogus medicine named Wasantha to the police, and even that was not given to the victim. The police officers told the victim's father that they could not produce the victim before a magistrate because their investigation was incomplete. However, the Sri Lankan law requires that the police must produce any arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours. In addition, the police have not provided any medical treatment to the victim until now.

Around 8:30 am, the victim's father went to the police station again with a lawyer named K.A.P.Bandara and the police officers promised the lawyer that they will produce the victim on 10 December 2003. Again, around noon, the victim's father went to the police station to see his son. A police officer told him that Jeewantha was taken into a room to record a statement but the victim's father has heard his son's cry. After Jeewantha came out from the room he told his father that the police had severely beat him inside the room. When the victim's father complained about it, the police officers threatened the father saying that they would remand the victim as well, if he comes to the police station again. The victim has not been produced before a magistrate until now and is in custody at the police station.

This is just another arbitrary arrest and torture case from Kandy, Sri Lanka. For example on 10 November 2003, torture victim Mahadura Pandula Sri Thaminda was arrested by police officers from the Kandy Police Station on fabricated charges, after he refused to withdraw his complaint against the police. Moreover, on 6 November 2003, over fifty persons demonstrated before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Sri Lanka headquarters in Colombo demanding the immediate sacking of its Kandy coordinator, saying "Sack the coordinator who is in close co-existence with police torture perpetrators", and "The coordinator helps the perpetrators and not the victims".

Despite the law against torture as contained in Act No 22 of 1994, not a single officer has been brought to trial or convicted in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan government follows a policy of the "Tolerance of Torture" and therefore is unwilling to take action against the police. Even in cases where the Supreme Court has found police officers having had committed torture, the officers are allowed to remain as police officers and even to hold high office. The Chief Law Enforcement Officer, the Attorney General, has failed to enforce the law against torture. The National Police Commission (NPC) which has the power of disciplinary control has failed in its duty to control discipline. It has for all practical purposes refused to use its power.

SUGGESTIED 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. 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

4. 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

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

Sample letter:

Dear

Re: Arbitrary arrest and torture of 22 year old Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda at the Katugastota Police Station

Name of the victim: Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda (22 years old)
Alleged perpetrators: Some officers attached to the Katugastota Police Station
Period of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture: 7 December until now

I am writing to bring to your attention the severe torture of Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda, 22, by the police officers at the Katugastota Police Station. He is illegally detained at the police station until now, and in danger of further torture against him.

According to the statement of the victim's father, Shiron Jeewantha Pallekanda was arrested by the police from the Katugastota Police Station on suspicion of vehicle stealing on 7 December 2003. The police did not give the Note of Arrest when they arrested the victim. At the police station, he was severely beaten by the police officers. Even though the victim vomited and suffered injuries because of torture, the police have not provided any medical treatment to the victim. The victim has not been produced before a magistrate yet, even though the Sri Lankan law requires that the police should produce any arrested person before a magistrate within 24 hours. The police even threatened the victim's father, who complained about the incident, saying that they would remand the victim if he comes to the police station again. The victim is still in custody at the police station.

This is just another arbitrary arrest and torture case from Kandy, Sri Lanka. For example on 10 November 2003, torture victim Mahadura Pandula Sri Thaminda was arrested by police officers from the Kandy Police Station on fabricated charges, after he refused to withdraw his complaint against the police. Moreover, on 6 November 2003, over fifty persons demonstrated before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Sri Lanka headquarters in Colombo, demanding the immediate sacking of its Kandy coordinator, saying "Sack the coordinator who is in close co-existence with police torture perpetrators", and "The coordinator helps the perpetrators and not the victims."

I strongly request you to order the immediate investigation of this serious case, and arrest and prosecute the perpetrators as soon as possible. I also urge you to ensure the victim has access to appropriate medical treatment immediately. I further urge the Sri Lankan government to take strong action to eliminate the widely spread custom of torture at the police stations.

Lastly, I bring to your notice the following recommendation made by the UN Human Rights Committee on 6 November 2003 (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.'

Sincerely yours,



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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-80-2003
Countries :
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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.