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UPDATE (SRI LANKA): Torture by police - No investigation and punishment

May 30, 2002

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 31 May 2002
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UP-32-2002 (RE: UA/19/2002: Torture resulting in loss of the use of both hands)

UPDATE (SRI LANKA): Torture by police - No investigation and punishment
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Dear Friends,

Regarding the torture case of Mr. Greesha de Silva (Previous appeal has spelled as Grissa) in Sri Lanka, We are sending you the medical report in this case.

No inquiry has yet started under Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel and Inhuman and Degrading Punishment or Treatment Act, (Act No 22 of 1994), which prescribe 7 years minimum period imprisonment for acts of torture. The disciplinary procedure also provides for immediate inquiries and suspension of officers pending finalization of inquiries. But unfortunately, none of these things have been done.

We urge you to take this matter up once again with the Sri Lankan government.

Thank you.


Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission

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CASE DETAILS

-Full name: Galappathi Guruge Greesha de Silva (32)
Manager/Partner "Green Gardner Restaurant" - Katugode, Galle
-Address: 'Siri Nila', No: 246, J.E.Perera Mawatha, Maglle, Galle, Sri Lanka
-Present situation: FR case filled by Mr.Weliamuna.
-Case No: SC (FR) 231/2002. Leave to proceed granted.

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MEDICO-LEGAL REPORT

Serial No.: UCP/2076/2002
Medico Legal Form No: 985/2002
Age: 32 years (Male)
Address: 246, 'Sirinilla' J E Perera Mawatha, Magalle, GALLE. SRI LANKA
Place of examination: Ward 05,General Hospital, (Teaching) Karapitya.
Date: 25.03.2002/Time: 3.35pm
Date of admission to hospital: 23.03.2002
Date of discharge: 10.04.2002.
Bead Head Ticket No: 28282
B. SHORT HISTORY GIVEN BY PATIENT:

The victim was taken into custody and assaulted by OIC, Harbaraduwa and two sub inspectors on 22.03.2002 at Ahangama Police station. According the victim he was suspended by wrists, which were tide down and placed on the back. Later he was suspended by thumbs. He was slapped on ears and hit on abdomen and back by z-lon tubes.

C. INJURIES

1. The victim has contused areas over the inner aspect of both wrists and thumbs.
2. The victim has weakness of Supraspinatus, Deltoid, Pectoralis major, Latiss imus dorai, Biceps, Brachioradialia, Tricepsmiscles & small muscles of hands of both upper limbs, Biceps, Triceps,and Suplnator jerks wer absent. Further wasting of interossel muscles and thenar and hypothenar eminences of both hands were observed.
3. Tram-line confusion observed over right upper back of chest, its long axis was 7.5cm long.

Height of the victim: 167.5cm
Weight of the victim: 60kg.

SPEATIAL INVESTIGATION: X-ray of neck, shoulders & hands were taken ai T.H. Karaptya, (No.16105 of 23.03.2002)

D. OPINION: The victim is having brachial plexus/ cervical root lesion involving 05- TI nerve toots of upper limbs.

1. Non grievous injuries Nos --- 03

2. Grievous Injuries Nos --- 02
Limb under section 311 of Penal Code: 311(d) (1)
Explanatory remarks:

3. The clinical examination findings of both upper limbs are in keeping with the circumstances described by the victim.

4. Injuries caused by: 03

5. Patient smelting of liquor: nil
Under influence of liquor: nil

Name of Medical Officer and Qualifications: Dr.U.C.P.Perera - DLM, MBBS, MA, LLB

Designation: Lecturer
Station: Dept. of Forensic Medicine, Ruhunu Medical Faculty

2002.04.17

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ACTION REQUESTED

Write letters to the Sri Lankan authorities, requesting an urgent investigation into this case and asking them to prosecute the suspected police officers according to the Act No 22 of 1994. Also send copies to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Chairman of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission.


SAMPLE LETTER

Re: Case of Mr. Greesha de Silva (Previous appeal has spelled as Grissa)

Name of victim: Mr. Girissa De Silva (32)
Date of violation: March 22, 2002
Tortured at: Habaraduwa Police Station
Suspect police officers: O.I.C. Satisgamage, S. I. Ariyaratne, S.I. Lekamvasam, Sergeant Chandra Soma and others in civilian clothes

I understand that despite of complaints made regarding the torture of above victim, resulting in serious injures, no action had yet been taken against these perpetrators, who have been named.

I urge you to take immediate action to suspend these officers to take criminal action under Act No 22 of 1994.

Hope to hear your prompt actions on this matter.

Thank you.

Sincerely yours,

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SEND LETTERS TO;

Honourable Prime Minister
Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Cambridge Place
Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 1 682905
Email: secpm@sltnet.lk
SALUTATION: Hon. Prime Minister

Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney - General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 436 421
SALUTATION: Dear Attorney General

SEND A COPY TO;

Mr. Fais Musthapa
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 50, Dr. N. m. Perera Mawatha
Borella, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
FAX: +941 694 924
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
SALUTATION: Dear Mr. Musthapa

Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917-9016
E-mail: secrt.hchr@unog.ch
Please mark "URGENT ATTN.: MR. VAN BOVEN"

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-32-2002
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.