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SRI LANKA: Men illegally arrested and tortured by Matale Police, and falsely charged with stealing money

August 11, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

11 August 2004
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UA-99-2004: SRI LANKA: Men illegally arrested and tortured by Matale Police, and falsely charged with stealing money

SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest; torture; false charges
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It has come to the attention of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that three men have been illegally arrested and tortured by police officers in the Matale Police custody. They were released on bail after 40 hours' detention and they were admitted to the Matale Hospital due to the severe injuries caused by torture by the police officers.

According to the information received, one of police officers who tortured the three men, Ekanayaka, was erecting a house adjoining the estate where the victims have lived. The victims were called by the said police officer to work on the house but they didn't go for the work. The said police officer was angry with these men and made a false accusation of theft against them.

This case reflects the ongoing fabrication of cases, torture and the lack of abiding by formal legal procedures by police in Sri Lanka. Your urgent action is required to address the issue of endemic torture and fabrication, and arbitrary illegal arrest by police officers taking place throughout Sri Lanka.

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

Name of the victim: 1. Balakrishnan Shiwabalan (17), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, 5/1, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
2. Muniyandi Neelamugam Selavakumar (17), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
3. Anthonysamy Anandakumar (19), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
Alleged perpetrators: Police officers Ekanayaka and Veeriah Vathan, and several police officers of Matale Police Station
Date of incident: 22 July 2004
Place of incident: Matale Police Station

Case details:

At about 8:30 p.m. on 22 July 2004, police officer Ekanayaka (No. 28370) came to the house of B. Shiwabalan with a group of police officers from Matale Police Station. They accused B. Shiwabalan of breaking into the house of the said police officer Ekanayaka, and stealing 12,000 rupees together with T. Parameshwaran and M.N. Selavakumar, very close friends who were helping to dig a lavatory pit in B. Shiwabalan's house at that time. The police wanted the three young men to come to the Matale Police to make a statement, and forced them into their jeep and took them away without producing any arrest warrant or memo of arrest to the family members of the victim. After one hour the police released T. Parameshwaran but detained B. Shiwabalan and M.N. Selavakumar.

During their detention, the two men were stripped of their clothes and blindfolded, beaten with iron rods and slapped and kicked mercilessly by several police officers. While they were tortured, they were forced to accept the false accusation that they broke into Ekanayaka's house and stole money. The police said that the victims would be released if they admitted to the crime. As they did not accept it, they were brutally assaulted repeatedly. B. Shiwabalan was beaten on his chest and soles of his feet with cricket wickets [posts] and he was made to lie down flat on his face and assaulted on the back and thighs. M.N. Selavakumar was also beaten on his thighs and back, and made to lie naked face down on a table.

On the following morning (July 23) at about 10:00 a.m. three police officers led by Veeriah Vathan from Matale Police came and took A. Anandakumar, a very close friend of B. Shiwabalan and M.N. Selavakumar, to the police station. A. Anandakumar was brought into the police station at about 11 a.m. He was beaten as other victims were and he was kicked on the lower abdomen with police boots.

After the assaults, the three persons were taken to a DMO (District Medical Officer) but no medical attention was provided, even though B. Shiwabalan complained about his chest pain caused by torture by the police officers.

When Muthiah Balakrishnan, the father of B. Shiwabalan, went to the Matale Police Station with his friends to meet his son, they observed that the victims were handcuffed and held to the benches with iron chains. They came to know his son and the two other persons were tortured by police officers in the said police station. On questioning about the victims' release, they were told that the three victims would be released by 4:00 p.m., but they were not released. The police then said that the three young men would be released after 24 hours of their detention, at 9:00 p.m., however, nothing happened. The police told that they needed to ask more questions to the victims and also asked the father with his friends to leave the police station, threatening to assault them if they didn't go. Since they didn't leave the police station, at around 11:00 a.m. police officer Ekanayaka came back and threatened them to leave the police station immediately.

The men were detained over 40 hours (from 8:30 p.m. of the 22nd to 2:00 p.m. of the 24th of July) in the Matale Police Station and they were produced in the Matale magistrate's court and released on bail on 24th July. After release, all of the victims were admitted to the Matale hospital. Even though they told both the JMO (Judicial Medical Officer) and the DMO of Matale hospital about the police assault, they were not examined seriously. Now they are seeking medical treatment regularly.

According to the information that AHRC has received, the said police officer, Ekanayaka, was erecting his house in the vicinity of the estate where the victims live. Since the victims were working as house builders, they were requested by him to work in the same manner on his house. However they didn't go to work building the house because they had to dig a lavatory pit in the house of B. Shiwabalan. The police officer made a false accusation of theft against them and arrested them because he was angry that they refused to work.

AHRC is deeply concerned by the inhumane torture of B. Shiwabalan, M.N. Selavakumar and A. Anandakumar by the police officers of Matale Police, including Ekanayaka, and the false charges in the case, and requests the Sri Lankan government and local authorities to take immediate legal/disciplinary action against the responsible officers. Full medical treatment should be provided to the victims as well.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the relevant authorities expressing your concern regarding this case.

1. Mr. Mahindra Rajapakse
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place
Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk

2. Mr. T.I. de Silva
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/426711/327877

3. 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

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. 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: SRI LANKA: Men illegally arrested and tortured by Matale Police, and falsely charged with stealing money

Name of the victim: 1. Balakrishnan Shiwabalan (17), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, 5/1, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
2. Muniyandi Neelamugam Selavakumar (17), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
3. Anthonysamy Anandakumar (19), residing in Fyeross Hill Estate, Tawalankoya, Ukuwela
Alleged perpetrators: Police officer Ekanayaka, Veeriah Vathan and several police officers of Matale Police Station
Date of incident: 22 July 2004
Place of incident: Matale Police Station

I am writing about the illegal arrest, inhuman torture and false charges lodged by the Matale Police in the case of Balakrishnan Shiwabalan, Muniyandi Neelamugam Selavakumar and Anthonysamy Anandakumar.

The Matale Police arbitrarily arrested the victims on suspicion of theft without any concrete evidence and assaulted them in order to make them confess. Furthermore, as the victims denied their guilt, the police tortured them repeatedly. Even though the victims complained about their pains of torture by the police officers, no real medical treatment was provided. After release, they were admitted to the Matale hospital, however, the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) and District Medical Officer (DMO) of Matale hospital have not examined them seriously although the victims insisted that the police assaulted them.

I am also shocked that police officers Ekanayaka (No. 28370) and Veeriah Vathan arbitrarily arrested and accused the victims of theft and tortured them because they refused to work on Ekanayaka's house.

Therefore, I strongly urge you to order a prompt and thorough investigation in this case and arrest and prosecute the responsible officers. I also ask you to ensure the victims receive full medical treatment. I further request you to withdraw the charges against the victims, which were fabricated by the police.

Sincerely yours,


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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-99-2004
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.