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UPDATE (SRI LANKA): Threats to the life of the torture victim Lalith Rajapakse

October 15, 2003

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 16 October 2003

[RE: UP-39-2003: Torture victim, Lalith Rajapakse, was acquitted of fabricated charges, UP-27-2003: Torture under Act No. 22 of 1994: but the accused police officers still function as officers, UP-29-2002: Court orders Release of Lalith Rajapakse, and UA-18-2002: Urgent medical help needed for torture victim]


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UP-42-2003: SRI LANKA: Threats to the life of the torture victim Lalith Rajapakse

SRI LANKA: Update on torture victim, Lalith Rajapakse was acquitted of fabricated charges
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that there was a threat to the life of the torture victim Lalith Rajapakse.

Lalith Rajapakse, who was tortured by the police officers attached to the Kandana Police Station, has made complaints about his case, and the case against the perpetrators is currently pending. Moreover, the case Lalith Rajapakse filed against the police for violation of fundamental rights is pending before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the date of hearing is scheduled on 23 October 2003. AHRC fears that some harm may be caused to Lalith before the hearing of the cases. Your urgent action is required to pressure the local authorities to ensure the safety of Lalith and his family.

To see our previous urgent appeals regarding Lalith Rajapakse's case, please visit:

[UP-39-2003:Torture victim, Lalith Rajapakse, was acquitted of fabricated charges
UP-27-2003: Torture under Act No. 22 of 1994: but the accused police officers still function as officers
UP-29-2002: Court orders Release of Lalith Rajapakse
UA-19-2002: Urgent medical help needed for torture victim]

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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DETAILED INFORMATION:

On the evening of 14 October 2003, four persons visited Lalith Rajapakse's house and asked for Lalith, who was not at home at the time. When Lalith Rajapakse's family inquired about their identities, these four persons answered that they had been sent by a Sub-Inspector from the Kandana Police Station and Lalith should go with them to meet the Sub-Inspector (who was not named) at the police station. Lalith's family made a complaint regarding this matter to the National Human Rights Commission Hot Line right away. When inquiries were made with the Kandana Police, they reported that they have not sent anyone to bring Lalith to the police station. The family fears a plot against Lalith because there are many instances in Sri Lanka, in which criminals have been engaged as hired assassins by interested parties.

Lalith Rajapakse, who was tortured by the police officers attached to the Kandana Police Station, had made complaints about his case. After the investigation of Lalith's case, the Prosecution of Torture Perpetrators Unit filed a criminal action under the Torture Act (Act No. 22 of 1994) against Sub-Inspector Peiris and some other officers before the Negambo Magistrates Court and the case is currently pending. According to the law, if these accused are found guilty, the mandatory sentence prescribed by Act No.22 of 1994 is seven years. Moreover, the case Lalith Rajapakse filed against the police for violation of fundamental rights is pending before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and the date of hearing is scheduled on 23 October 2003. On 29 September 2003, Lalith was acquitted of the two fabricated charges that the police officers filed against him at the Magistrate's Court of Wattala, on the basis that there was no evidence at all to connect him to the charges.

Meanwhile, S.I. Peiris who is an accused in this case has tried to contact several persons from human rights groups who have helped Lalith with his case, in order to pressurize him into not proceeding with the cases. Lalith and his family have made several earlier complaints of threats to him as well as to the grandfather. At the initial stages, after making the complaint against the police, there was an attempt to poison the grandfather through an intermediary, which was brought to the notice of the police authorities through the National Human Rights Commission. Also, the officer in charge of the police station who is the first respondent in the fundamental rights case continues in his post as the Officer-in-Charge of the Kandana Police Station.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Send a letter, fax or email to the addresses below and ask the local authorities to ensure the safety of Lalith 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

Sample letter:

Dear

RE: Concerning threats to the life of the torture victim Lalith Rajapakse

I am writing to bring your attention on the recent threat to the life of the Lalith Rajapakse.

According to the grandfather of Lalith Rajapakse, on the evening of 14 October 2003, four persons visited Lalith Rajapakse's house and asked for Lalith, who was not at home at the time. When Lalith Rajapakse's family inquired about their identities, these four persons answered that they had been sent by a Sub-Inspector from the Kandana Police Station and Lalith should go with them to meet the Sub-Inspector (who was not named) at the police station. Lalith's family made a complaint regarding this matter to the National Human Rights Commission Hot Line right away. When inquiries were made with the Kandana Police, they reported that they have not sent anyone to bring Lalith to the police station. The family fears a plot against Lalith because there are many instances in Sri Lanka, in which criminals have been engaged as hired assassins by interested parties.

Lalith and his family have received several threats after making the complaint against the police. Also, the officer in charge of the police station who is the first respondent in the fundamental rights case continues in his post as the Officer-in-Charge of the Kandana Police Station.

I am very concerned of the safety of Lalith and his family and I fear that some harm may be caused to Lalith before the hearing of the case which is scheduled on 23 October 2003. Therefore, I urge you to take appropriate action to protect him, both as a torture victim seeking redress and as a complainant in a High Court trial. 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.

Sincerely yours,

 

 

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Thank you.

Kim Soo A

Urgent Appeals Programme

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-42-2003
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.