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UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Young man who was brutally tortured by the Horana police now threatened to withdraw his Supreme Court Case

March 10, 2006

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

10 March 2006

[RE: UP-031-2006: SRI LANKA: Supreme Court granted to leave to proceed in a torture case for the compensation filed by S.A. Akila Chaturanga; UA-006-2006: SRI LANKA: Arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of a man by the Horana police]
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UP-043-2006: SRI LANKA: Young man who was brutally tortured by the Horana police now threatened to withdraw his Supreme Court Case

SRI LANKA: Torture; threat and intimidation; need for witness protection; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has come to learn of the threats being made against a torture victim by personnel from the Horana police. SA Akila Chaturanga, who was tortured by Sergeant Caldera and others from the Horana police in December 2005 has, in recent days, faced severe threat and intimidation to withdraw his case against the perpetrators following the Supreme Court’s decision to grant leave to proceed with the case. The next hearing of the case is fixed for April 28, in which time it is feared that even further threats will be made against Mr. Chaturanga.

Mr. Chaturanga has complained that ever since the Supreme Court’s decision, various people have visited his house on behalf of the policeman to try and persuade him to withdraw his case and some have even offered him a substantial bribe for doing so. In the latest attempt to get this case withdrawn, his own brother and sister-in-law forced him to visit the Janasansadaya office to withdraw the case. Ironically none of his homefolk were even aware of this. Although neither Mr. Chaturanga nor his parents want the case withdrawn and instead wish to seek justice for the degrading and brutal treatment meted out to him by the police, it is feared that this young man might be unable to withstand the pressures against him.

What makes this situation of threat and intimidation possible is that the alleged perpetrators continue to hold their positions at the same police station, and therefore maintain the authority and are within close distance to the victim to enable them to harass him in the manner that they currently are. Despite reassurances in the past from authorities in the country that alleged perpetrators within the police force would be transferred or subjected to disciplinary procedures, this clearly has not occurred in many cases, including that of Mr. Chaturanga. The Government of Sri Lanka has likewise given assurances both locally and internationally to provide effective witness protection to all victims of crime, particularly those who have suffered injuries at the hands of state officers, but again this has fallen well short of what has been promised. While such failures by the authorities in Sri Lanka continue to occur victims such as Mr. Chaturanga will face further threat and intimidation. 

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the relevant authorities listed below seeking their intervention in securing the safety of Mr. Chaturanga and ensuring that no further threats or intimidation are directed at him. To properly ensure Mr. Chaturanga’s safety, all officers who are respondents in the Fundamental Rights Application 29/2006 must be immediately transferred from the Horana Police Station. Further, an inquiry should also be conducted by the SIU under Act no. 22 of 1994 to proceed against the officers for committing an offense of torture.

Suggested letter:

Dear _____________,

SRI LANKA: Young man who was brutally tortured by the Horana police now threatened to withdraw his Supreme Court Case

Name of victim: SA Akila Chaturanga, 22, unmarried; Occupation: farmhand.
Name of alleged perpetrators: The OIC, Sergeant Caldera, PCs R1768 and 31288 of the Horana police station.

I write to you with grave concern for the safety of a torture victim who is currently receiving threats indirectly by his perpetrators in an effort to have him withdraw the case. Mr. Chaturanga was tortured by Sergeant Caldera and others from the Horana police in December 2005 and, in recent days, has faced severe threat and intimidation to withdraw his case against the perpetrators following the Supreme Court’s decision to grant leave to proceed with the case. The next hearing of the case is fixed for April 28, in which time it is feared that even further threats will be made against Mr. Chaturanga.

Mr. Chaturanga has complained that ever since the Supreme Court’s decision, various people have visited his house on behalf of the policeman to try and persuade him to withdraw his case and some have even offered him a substantial bribe for doing so. In the latest attempt to get this case withdrawn, his own brother and sister-in-law forced him to visit the Janasansadaya office to withdraw the case. Ironically none of his homefolk were even aware of this. Although neither Mr. Chaturanga nor his parents want the case withdrawn, and instead wish to seek justice for the degrading and brutal treatment meted out to him by the police, it is feared that this young man might be unable to withstand the pressures against him.

What makes this situation of threat and intimidation possible is that the alleged perpetrators continue to hold their positions at the same police station, and therefore maintain the authority and are within close distance to the victim to enable them to harass him in the manner that they currently are. Despite reassurances in the past from authorities in the country that alleged perpetrators within the police force would be transferred or subjected to disciplinary procedures when a case such as this arises, this clearly has not occurred in many cases, including that of Mr. Chaturanga. The Government of Sri Lanka has likewise given assurances both locally and internationally to provide effective witness protection to all victims of crime, particularly those who have suffered injuries at the hands of state officers, but again this has fallen well short of what has been promised. While such failures by the authorities in Sri Lanka continue to occur, victims such as Mr. Chaturanga will face further threat and intimidation. 

In light of this and owing to the urgency of this matter due to the immediate threat against the victim, I call on you seeking your intervention in securing the safety of Mr. Chaturanga and ensuring that no further threats or intimidation are directed at him. To properly ensure Mr. Chaturanga’s safety, all officers who are respondents in the Fundamental Rights Application 29/2006 must be immediately transferred from the Horana Police Station. Further, an inquiry should also be conducted by the SIU under Act no. 22 of 1994 to proceed against the officers for committing an offense of torture. The investigation should also inquire into the many human rights violations that have occurred at the hands of the Horana police in recent times.

I trust your intervention will be forthcoming.

Yours sincerely,
______________________

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. J Thangawelu
DIG Legal
Police Headquarters
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: 94 11 2381 394
Email: legaldiv@police.lk 

2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421 

3. Mr. Chandra Fernando.
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877

4. National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
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 694925 / 673806
Fax: +94 11 2 694924 / 696470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

6. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657 (this is contact for Secretary to President) 
Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk

7. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: ssyed@ohchr.org

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-043-2006
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.