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UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Michael Anthony Fernando receives death threats

December 1, 2003

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 1 December 2003

[RE: UP-45-2003: Michael Anthony Fernando freed and given an Asian human rights award, UP-26-2003: Update on Mr Michael Anthony Emmanuel Fernando ('Tony'), UP-19-2003, UP-14-2003, UA-09-2003: Human rights defender tortured and denied the fundamental right to a fair hearing]

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UP-49-2003: SRI LANKA: Michael Anthony Fernando receives death threats

SRI LANKA: Update on Michael Anthony Fernando (Tony)'s case
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Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned that Michael Anthony Fernando has received death threats to withdraw the complaints he has filed against those who have violated his rights. It is a bewildering situation for a person pursuing justice to be threatened due to this reason. Your urgent action is required to urge the local authorities to assure Michael Anthony Fernado's safety.

To see the previous urgent appeals regarding Michael Anthony Fernando's case, please visit;
[ UA-09-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/408/
UP-14-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/422/
UP-19-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/452/
UP-26-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2003/486/
UP-45-2003: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/General/565]

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

On Thursday, 27 November 2003, Michael Anthony Fernando (Tony) received death threats from a unknown person by phone, demanding that he immediately withdraw the three complaints he has filed against those who have violated his rights. All of the cases are currently pending in court. In addition, the next day (28 November), some unidentified persons visited his house and threatened his family to harm if Tony does not withdraw the cases. Tony has lodged a complaint regarding this incident to the local police.

The three cases that relate to the present threats to Tony Fernando are:

An application to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding his imprisonment on alleged contempt of court and torture at the hands of prison authorities,
A case against torture at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka relating to torture suffered at the hands of the prison authorities,
A criminal case filed by the prosecution against two prison officers regarding the torture of Tony

A Sri Lankan newspaper, Ravaya, that has supported Tony throughout his ordeal and has championed the cause of the independence of the judiciary, has also received threatening phone calls. These threats were reported in the latest edition of the newspaper last weekend.

Tony Fernando's case is well-known. He was imprisoned by the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and two other judges while pursuing a fundamental rights violation case before the Supreme Court and representing himself. He was imprisoned for one year without any hearing. Regarding Tony's case, UN Special Rapporteur for the Independence of the Judiciary and Lawyers condemned his imprisonment as an act of injustice done by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, and the judgment provoked a massive protest. Though the court asked Tony to apologize as a condition of reducing his present sentence, he refused on the basis that he had not acted in any manner contemptuous of court. He was released from jail after he had completed ten month full term of the sentence. He was awarded an HRC Human Rights Defender Award by the AHRC.

Over a hundred parliament members signed a recently filed impeachment case against the Chief Justice in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. One of the reasons for impeachment was the sentencing of Tony without just cause. Even while Tony was in jail he was threatened to withdraw the complaints he had filed. Now, upon his release he is receiving death threats and visits at him home by unknown persons.

We also draw your attention to the observations made by the UN Human rights Committee on 6 November 2003. Regarding the threats to victims and witnesses of human rights violations, the committee strongly recommended to the Sri Lankan government that;

"The authorities should diligently enquire into all cases of suspected intimidation of witnesses and establish a witness protection program in order to put an end to the climate of fear that plagues the investigation and prosecution of such cases." (CCPR/CO/79/LKA (future) HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Seventy-ninth session)

Therefore, AHRC strongly urges the Sri Lankan government to assure the safety of Tony Fernando.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the local authorities and urge them to take an appropriate action to assure the safety of Michael Anthony Fernando.

1. Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
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 11 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 11 2 669 128 (need to ask to change to fax mode) / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148

4. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Director
National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
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

6. Mr. Leandro Despouy
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais Wilson, Rue des Paquis 52, Geneva
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 9179130
Fax: +41 22 9179006

Suggested letter:

Dear

Re: Michael Anthony Fernando receives death threats

I am shocked to learn about the death threats to Mr. Michael Anthony Fernando (Tony), who was released from prison only recently after being sentenced unjustly.

According to the information I have received, Tony Fernando received death threats from an unknown person, demanding him to withdraw the three complaints immediately which has filed against those who have violated his rights. All of the cases are currently pending in court. In addition, the next day (28 November), some unidentified persons visited his house and threatened his family to harm if Tony does not withdraw the cases.

The three cases which relate to the present threats to Tony Fernando are:

An application to the UN Human Rights Committee regarding his imprisonment on alleged contempt of court and torture at the hands of prison authorities,
A case against torture at the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka relating to torture suffered at the hands of the prison authorities,
A criminal case filed by the prosecution against two prison officers regarding the torture of Tony

It is a bewildering situation for a person pursuing justice to be threatened for this very reason. I draw your attention to the observations made by the UN Human rights Committee on 6 November 2003 which strongly recommended to the Sri Lankan government that "The authorities should diligently enquire into all cases of suspected intimidation of witnesses and establish a witness protection program in order to put an end to the climate of fear that plagues the investigation and prosecution of such cases." (CCPR/CO/79/LKA (future) HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Seventy-ninth session).

I urge you to take action on this issue immediately and assure the safety of Tony Fernando. I also urge you to ensure his right to pursue his complaints at legitimate forums.

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-49-2003
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.