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UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Inexcusable delay in Gerald Perera's court trial

February 10, 2006

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

10 February 2006

[RE: UP-120-2005: SRI LANKA: Trial begins in High Court relating to the torture of Gerald Perera; UP-32-2005: SRI LANKA: Please write a letter to the Attorney General to speed up Gerald Perera's murder trial; UP-23-2005: Gerald Perera's murder trial may not begin for another 5-7 years, UP-14-2005: The assassin of Gerald Perera has been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department, UP-76-2004: Gerald Perera died after gunshot; His family needs urgent protection, UP-74-2004:  No action from the government to protect torture victim even after attempt on his life, UA-157-2004: Torture victim pursuing criminal torture case shot; UP-47-2002 (RE: UA/18 and 19/2002 - Torture by police, impunity and denial of proper rehabilitation; UP-44-2002 (RE: UA/18 and 19/2002 - Torture by police, impunity, denial of proper rehabilitation]
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UP-026-2006: SRI LANKA: Inexcusable delay in Gerald Perera’s court trial

SRI LANKA: Court delay; delay in administration of justice; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward to you a letter written by Gerald Perera’s widow, Wicramaratne Pathirannahalage Padma Wicramaratne to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka. Padma wrote to the Chief Justice to voice her concern at the inexcusable delay in the court trial into her husband’s murder. She noted that while other cases of murder in the country have been dealt with quickly and efficiently, 14 months have now passed since her husband’s murder and yet no serious attempts have been taken to have his case heard.

Letter by Padma:

30th January 2006

Honourable Chief Justice
Supreme Court
Supreme Court Complex
Hulftsdorp, Colombo 12

Honourable Chief Justice,

Re: The case of Gerald Perera who was assassinated by the police

I am the widow of Gerald Perera.  My husband’s death took place on the 24th November 2004 as the result of shooting of my husband which took place on 21st November.  I have learned that after inquiries, five police officers and one of their collaborators have been taken into custody and murder charges have been leveled against them.

Previously a torture done on my husband without any reason had been accepted by the Supreme Court through one of its well known decisions.  Later as my husband was to give evidence before the Negombo High Court on a case of torture, just one week before giving such evidence he was assassinated.  I also learned that the investigations have revealed that the reason for this assassination was to prevent him from giving evidence.

My husband’s death took place three days before the murder of Justice Ambepitiya.  Now several months have passed since the final verdict has been given (July 5, 2005) in Justice Ambepitiya’s case.  One Yvonne Jonssen, a young girl was murdered about seven months after my husband on 1st July.  I have learned that the hearing of this case started at Colombo High Court on 16th January 2006 and that it is being heard on a day-to-day basis continuously.

However, there is no date fixed for the trial of my husband who was the complainant and chief witness of a criminal trial.  Furthermore, I have also learned that after whatever day it starts it can go on for several more years.

Immediately following the end of the investigation into this case a request was made from the Honourable Attorney General to take the appropriate steps to have my husband’s case heard before a trial at Bar.  I learned that the Inspector General of Police had said at a meeting that he has requested that this case be heard before a trial at Bar.

However, neither has there been a date fixed for a trial regarding my husband’s murder nor has any decision been made to hear the case from beginning to the end without postponements.  My husband who was the complainant and the chief witness of a criminal trial was killed by a group of state officers.  For that reason my husband’s murder takes a special importance as in the case of Justice Ambepitiya.  While the judges have some protection, what is the type of protection that a witness like my husband has, particularly when he is to give evidence against a group of state officers who were accused of torture?  Granting speedy trial regarding such a murder would restore confidence in others and also eliminate the fear from which all witnesses suffer.

I was even more surprised and shocked to learn that a murder of a foreign girl which took place only on July 1st, 2005, is now being heard before the Colombo High Court and that the case is heard from day to day.  I was saddened by the fact that my husband’s murder has not even been given as much importance as this common murder which is being tried within six months after the incident.  While even after 14 months no attempts at all have been made for the hearing of my husband’s murder which shocked both the local people as well as people from other countries.

Thank you,

Sincerely yours,

Wicramaratne Pathirannahalage Padma Wicramaratne
(Translated from the Sinhala original)


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the Chief Justice voicing your own concern for the delay in Gerald Perera’s case. Please highlight the fact that under Sri Lankan law there is a procedure whereby the Chief Justice can refer the case to be heard at trial-at-bar. Given the exceptional circumstances of Gerald Perera’s case, the Chief Justice should execute this power in this instance.


Suggested letter:

Hon. Sarath Nanda Silva
Chairman
Chief Justice
Judicial Service Commission
No. 573, Hulftsdorp Steet
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 436308/451159
Tel/fax: +94 11 2 432854

Dear Honourable Chief Justice,

SRI LANKA: Delay in Gerald Perera’s court trial requires immediate intervention

I write to voice my concern regarding the delay in having Gerald Perera’s murder trial heard before the court. Despite 14 months having now passed since Gerald Perera’s murder, little has been done to bring this trial to court and to hold those responsible accountable for the heinous crimes they committed.

I am greatly concerned that this delay may be prolonged further if persons with the authority to intervene do not do so. As the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka, I therefore call on you to use your authority to ensure that this does not occur.

I am aware that under Sri Lankan law there is a procedure whereby the Chief Justice can refer a case to be heard at trial-at-bar. To do this, the case would have to be considered ‘exceptional’; but I have no doubt that Gerald Perera’s murder falls well within this category.

In any other country a case such as Gerald Perera’s would be considered under special procedures. I trust that it will be likewise treated as so in Sri Lanka and that with your intervention Gerald Perera’s case will come before the court with no further delay.

Yours sincerely,

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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-026-2006
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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.