Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that police officers are failing to act on a report made by a young girl, who was abducted and raped on 27 April. The girl knows her attacker and has presented evidence of the crime, yet no substantive action has been taken by the local police station.
CASE DETAILS: (based on information given by the victims grandmother)
The victim, Miss X (name withheld), is a 14-year-old student of the Rattota Tamil Maha Vidyalaya school, grade eight, who lives with her grandmother and two brothers in Palletenna Rattota.
On 27 April 2009 she came across an older boy called Vidushan, who had introduced himself on two occasions the week before at her school bus stop. The boy asked her to marry him, and when she laughed and declined he tried to push her into a three-wheeler vehicle behind the bus stand. She struggled, so he covered her face with a cloth soaked in something that made her lose consciousness.
After the victim failed to show up at home that evening her grandmother went to look for her at school, and, told that her granddaughter hadnt arrived at school that day, reported her missing at the Rattota police station.
When Miss X regained consciousness she found herself in a room, but being groggy from the substance held to her face, thought that she was at home. She fell back asleep. Later when she regained full consciousness, she realised that she was in a strange house and that she had been sexually abused. When she started to cry, the boy took her back to her grandmothers house in his three wheeler. When the girl walked into the house at 10:30pm that evening her grandmother saw that she was not wearing her school tie, and that her school bag and her earrings were missing.
The next day on 28 April, the girl and her grandmother made a complaint at Rattota Police Station, identifying the rapist and providing identifying details for his vehicle. However they, and later the principal of the school, were told not to disclose details of the abduction to anyone. A visit to the Matale Base Hospital on the same day confirmed that the girl had been raped, and she remained in hospital until May 7. On her release she was told that her abductor had been questioned, however it has since become known that this was in a brief, unofficial interview with the Officer in Charge and that the boy was then released and asked to return the next day. Since then no clear action has been taken: the suspect has not been questioned, a case against him has not been filed in the magistrates court and a warrant for his arrest has not been issued.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
The Constitution of Sri Lanka enshrines a series of fundamental rights in Chapter Three which state that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law. As such, an inquiry into the rape by the Rattota police is Miss Xs right. That no active investigation has been conducted, nor the suspect charged weeks after the incident–despite the availability of evidence and the victims report–is in direct violation of police regulations. That she has been denied this so far also goes against her right to justice and effective remedy, as found in article two of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which was ratified by Sri Lanka in 1980.
The suspect must also be given a fair trial and if proven guilty, brought to justice, rehabilitated and eventually brought back into society, if feasible. This is not only to ensure justice for Miss X but to prevent other girls from the same fate. Research has shown that rapists often continue to commit crimes of violation and domination against women. The indifference shown so far by the Rattota police to a violent sexual crime perpetrated on a minor in their jurisdiction sends out an encouraging message to other would-be criminals.
If rape is proven, it is criminalised under Section 363 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, amended in 1995. Section 364 specifies the terms of imprisonment and an order of compensation against convicted rapists.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the local authorities listed below and urge them to carry out a speedy and impartial investigation into the abduction and rape of Miss X, and to bring the suspect to justice without delay. The safety of the victim and her family must be ensured, compensation arranged, and the negligent officers disciplined and given further training.
Please be informed that the AHRC has written a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women calling for an intervention in this case.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
SRI LANKA: Police apathy exposed towards the rape of a 14-year-old girl
Name of victim: Withheld for security reasons, (14), Student of Rattota Tamil Maha Vidiyalaya Resident with her grandmother at Palletenna, Rattota
Negligent police station: Rattota Police Station, Mathale district II, Matale Division, Central Range (West) Place of incident: Rattota, Sri Lanka
Date of incident: 27 April 2009
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the abduction and rape of a 14-year-old female student, and the indifference so far demonstrated by the local police station in investigating the case. Rape is criminalised under Section 363 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, amended in 1995, and section 364 specifies the terms of imprisonment and an order of compensation against convicted rapists. That no active investigation has been conducted, nor the suspect charged weeks after the incident–despite the availability of evidence and the victims testimony–is in direct violation of police regulations.
It appears that the child had been forced into a three-wheeler by a boy on 27 April while waiting for a bus to school, and had been drugged with a cloth pressed to her face. She awoke that evening in an unfamiliar house to find that she had been raped. Her alleged attacker dropped her close to her house at 10:30pm the same evening, minus her school bag and items of jewelry.
The victims grandmother had reported the girl missing at Rattota Police Station that evening after the girl failed to return home, and the next day (April 28) filed a complaint with her granddaughter, giving details of the incident, the attacker and his vehicle. Matale Base Hospital confirmed that the girl had been raped, and she remained in hospital until May 7.
I am concerned to hear from Rattotas Deputy Inspector General that though the Officer in Charge of the station questioned the suspect in a brief, unofficial capacity on May 7 he released him shortly after, asking him to return the next day. Since then, despite the duty of the police to take all steps to protect the victim, no clear action has been taken: the suspect has not been questioned, a case against him has not been filed in the magistrates court and a warrant for his arrest has not been issued.
An inquiry into the rape by the Rattota police is the girls fundamental right according to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Chapter Three, which states that all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law. That she has been denied this so far also goes against her right to justice and effective remedy, as found in article two of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which was ratified by Sri Lanka in 1980.
Such negligence also takes a toll on society at large. Research has shown that rapists often continue to commit crimes of violation and domination against women. The indifference shown so far by the Rattota police to a violent sexual crime perpetrated on a minor in their jurisdiction, sends out an encouraging message to other would-be criminals.
Therefore I strongly urge your immediate intervention into this case, ensuring that an impartial investigation is set in motion. The safety of the victim and her family must be ensured, the suspect punished and rehabilitated, and compensation for the victim must be arranged. I urge you to look into the environment and operating procedures at Rattota Police Station, to discern exactly why the confirmed rape of a minor has not been met with action or interest, and discipline those responsible. I also suggest that training be given to officers, so that they are able to adequately and appropriately assess and investigate crimes of a sexual nature in the future.
I look forward to your urgent intervention into this case.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
2. Secretary
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
3. Chairperson
National Child Protection Authority
330, Thalawathgoda Road
Madiwella
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 778912/13/14
Fax: +94 11 2 778975
E-mail: ncpa@childprotection.gov.lk
4. Secretary
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: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrch.asia)
