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UPDATE (SRI LANKA): The security of the torture victim and his Mother is severely threatened by the perpetrators

September 24, 2003

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update Appeal 25 September 2003
[RE: UA-39-2003: SRI LANKA: Torture of 17-year-old boy; UP-31-2003: SRI LANKA: Update on torture of 17-year-old boy, Chamila Bandara, by Ankumbura police]

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UP-38-2003: SRI LANKA: The security of the torture victim and his Mother is severely threatened by the perpetrators


SRI LANKA: Update on torture of 17-year-old boy, Chamila Bandara

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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information that the torture victim, Chamila Bandara (17 years old) and his mother have fled their home after being severely threatened by the alleged perpetrators. Also, there was an attack against victim's mother by a man, who was believed to be instigated by the perpetrators. Chamila Bandara has lost the use of his left arm permanently after he was illegally arrested and severely tortured by the Officer-in-Charge and the other officers of Angkumbura Police Station. Your urgent action is required to pressure the local authorities to immediately intervene in this case in order to ensure the security of the victim and his mother.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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UPDATED INFORMATION:

The victim, Chamila Bandara, has lost the use of his left arm permanently after he was illegally arrested and severely tortured from 20 July to 28 July, at the Ankumbura police station. (Refer to our previous urgent appeals regarding this case: UA-39-2003; UP-31-2003) He had been hospitalized for a long time and he is still undergoing treatment, even though he has been discharged from hospital.

However, the victim has gone into hiding as the infuriated perpetrators have been searching for him and attempted to harm his family after the victim's family made complaints to the Sri Lankan authorities. There is information that a person who was believed to be instigated by the alleged tried to attack the victim's mother with broken bottles a few days ago. A human rights NGO is taking care of the victim.

The victim's family made complaints against alleged perpetrators to the Sri Lankan authorities and the Supreme Court has granted leave to proceed with his application related to the violation of his fundamental rights. Meanwhile, a special unit of inquiry is conducting investigations into his case. The case also has received enormous publicity locally, and a complaint has been made to the UN Special Rapporteur on Question of Torture and the other international bodies.

The alleged perpetrators, who were angry about these actions against them, even used local criminals to intimidate the victim and his family. The victim's mother has been threatened many times directly by the police and by some people who were believed to be under the instigation of the alleged perpetrators. After being attacked by an unknown person, the mother left the village, and is staying with her parents worrying her security.

The victim's family has learnt that the OIC and other perpetrators attempted to fabricate the case by forcing some boys to testify that the victim's injury caused by a fall. They had to do it out of fear and several of them have already gone back on the statements taken under duress. Meantime, the officer in charge, who was accused as the chief perpetrator of the torture against the victim, is still working at the Angkumbura police station.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the addresses below and urge the Sri Lanka authorities to take speedy action to ensure the security of the victim and his family.

1 Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 2 682905
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 1 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 1 2 691 926
Fax HOME: +941 2 674148

4. National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 1 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 1 2 694 924
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
E-mail: secrt.hchr@unog.ch

Suggested letter:

Dear

Re: The security of the torture victim and his Mother is severely threatened by the perpetrators and the alleged perpetrator is still holding his post

I am writing to ask your urgent action to ensure the security of the torture victim, Chamila Bandara (17 years old), and her mother. Their security is severely threatened by the perpetrators now.

I have learned that Chamila Bandara and his mother have fled their home after being severely threatened by the alleged perpetrators. Also, a man, who was believed to be instigated by the perpetrators, attacked the victim's mother a few days ago.

The victim, Chamila Bandara, has lost the use of his left arm permanently after he was severely tortured by the Officer-in-Charge and the other officers from 20 July to 28 July, at the Ankumbura police station. Currently, the victim has gone into hiding as the infuriated perpetrators have been searching for him and attempted to harm his family after the victim's family made complaints to the Sri Lankan authorities. Allegedly, the alleged perpetrators even used local criminals to intimidate the victim and his family. Moreover, the OIC and other perpetrators tried to fabricate the case by forcing some boys to testify that the victim's injury caused by a fall. The officer in charge, who was accused as the chief perpetrator of the torture against the victim, is still working at the same police station.

I urge you to take strong and speedy action to protect the victim and his family. I also urge you to transfer the OIC and the other police officers away from the police station until disciplinary action is taken against them. I urge again you to prosecute the perpetrators and bring them to justice as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours,

 

*************

Thank you.

Kim Soo A

Urgent Appeals Programme

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-38-2003
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.