SRI LANKA: Special Task Force illegally arrest, detain and file fabricated charges against a German philanthropist staying in Sri Lanka

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a German philanthropist staying in Sri Lanka has been illegally arrested and detained by the officers attached to the Special Task Force (STF) of the Sri Lanka police on 17th August, 2010 at Siyambalanduwa. He was travelling with his son and his companions in the district of Monaragala. He was detained in the Siyambalanduwa Police Station where fabricated charges of illegal drug trafficking were filed against him. A few months before this incident a powerful Minister of the present Sri Lankan government illegally requested Mr. Michael Kreitmeir to give him Rs. 30 million towards his election campaign and when Mr. Kreitmeir refused he was threatened by the Minister. A report on this specific incident was sent to the German Embassy on 13 March 2010 by the victim. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

Mr. Michael Kreitmeir is a German philanthropist living in Nikapotha, Koslanda in Sri Lanka. He has been helping the victims of the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, especially the children and mothers in need though building schools, houses and orphanages in the eastern and southern part of the country. The main project is a children’s village at Koslanda in the hill country where around 90 orphans are being taken care of. Mr. Kreitmeir is in his mid-50s, a professional journalist and film director.

On the afternoon of 17 August at 5pm, Michael, his son, Emmanuel, the chief matron of the children’s village Bavani and her daughter Divia and her friend Shipani were on their way back to Little Smile in Koslanda after visiting a hospital project in Kalmunai in the district of Ampara and another children’s home for 80 girls in Batticaloa which is funded by Michael Kreitmeir. They were stopped by officers of Special Team Force (STF) an elite anti-terrorism unit for a check at Siyambalanduwa near the city of Monaragala. They searched the car for more than 30 minutes. Even before the check started everybody had to hand over their mobile phones. When the check was coming to an end and the STF members were reloading the bags, suddenly one member appeared and showed a red plastic bag. It was not clear and visible to Mr. Kreitmeir or anybody from his group where it came from. Without even really looking at it the Superintendent of Police (SP) the highest ranking officer in that group was announced that it was an illegal drug. Mr. Kreitmeir and his son Emmanuel were at once separated and brought to the police station of Siyambalanduwa. Bawani and the children were also kept separately.

Until 2am the 14 year old Diviah, the daughter of Bawani, and her friend, 14 year old Shipani were questioned. Mrs. Bawani was also questioned and kept separately until that time. She was threatened with life imprisonment, but promised with release if she would make a statement against Mr. Kreitmeir. The police also tried to get a statement against Michael from the two children.

Emmanuel was separately brought to the police station and kept in a dark house there. He was not told anything about the whereabouts of his father or Bawani and the children. He was guarded always with heavy weapons and STF personal. He was not asked any question on the incident and nobody told him anything about any charges against him. He asked several times to call a lawyer or the German embassy and a STF personal started shouting and threatening him. When he was asked to see his father they assured him that he would be allowed to do so but he was kept separately without any information and without any questioning from 6pm to about 10.30pm. Eventually he was allowed to see his father and was questioned with him until 4am.

Michael and his son Emmanuel were also forced to sign a statement in Sinhala, a language they cannot read.

Michael was told from the STF that they found more than two grams of heroin (which later was discovered to be another lie) and that this was enough for Death Penalty. They tried to scare him with that and told him that also his son could face the death penalty so he should confess to the possession of the drug.

The SP and most of his officers, altogether around 30 men, left Siyambalanduwa at around 22.30 pm and headed to the farm owned by Mr. Mr. Kreitmeir which is around 50 km away in Nikapotha. It is run by his manager Mr. Shiran. There organic spices are bred under fair trade standards and the income is donated to the children’s village.
They entered the farm and started their search. Finally they found two small figures carved out of ivory inside the house. At the time of search or latter they did not produce a search warrant, any order issued by court or any other legal document which would allow them to do such search under Sri Lankan Law. Latter Shiran was also arrested on 18 August 2010. Mr. Shiran was also threatened by the STF personal and forced to sign documents accepting possession of ivory which he did not want to. It is an antic figure which he said was already at the place when he came there. Anyway he had the impression that the STF was determined to find something that might incriminate him and put him in jail.
After that at 3am on 18 August 2010 the STF raided the Little Smile children’s village at Koslanda frightening the children and women in the orphanage with their guns and interrogations in the middle of the night. They also scared the responsible matron there and threatened to arrest her. They stole the house key belong to Mr. Mr. Kreitmeir from Siyambalanduwa and used it to open his private house. There they took some antique statues of Buddha from the house of Michael without a search warrant.
Latter Mr. Shiran was produce before the court and remanded in remand Prison Badulla where he is awaiting trial.
By Thursday Emmanuel and the other ladies were released without charge from the Magistrate’s Court of Monaragala. However, the police filed fabricated charge of drug trafficking under Section 54 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amended) Act No. 13 of 1984 against Mr. Kreitmeir which is a non-bailable offence. When the case was taken up in the Magistrate’s Court the Magistrate openly mentioned that this is a very weak case. But Mr. Kreitmeir was remanded and sent to Monoragala remand prison.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of arbitrarily arrest and detentions by the Sri Lankan police which are illegal under international and local law which have taken place at different Police Station in the country over the past few years.

Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right to equality for all persons as stated that ‘all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law’. Further Article 13 (1) has stated that ‘No person shall be arrested except according to procedure established by law. Any person arrested shall be informed of the reason for his arrest’.

Article 13 (3), states that, ‘Any person charged with an offence shall be entitled to be heard, in person or by an attorney-at-law, at a fair trial by a competent court’.

In the case of Nawasivayam vs. Gunawardena S. C. Application No: 166/86, The Sharvananda, C.J. at the Supreme Courte of Sri Lanka, held that,

‘In my view when the 3rd Respondent [Officer-in-Charge of the Police Station] required the Petitioner [victim] to accompany him to the Police Station and took him to the Police Station, the Petitioner was in law arrested by the 3rd Respondent. The Petitioner was prevented by the action of the 3rd Respondent from proceeding with his journey in the bus. The Petitioner was deprived of his liberty to go where he pleased. It was not necessary that there should have been any actual use of force; threat of force used to procure the Petitioner’s submission was sufficient. The Petitioner did not go to the Police Station Voluntarily. He was taken to the Police by the 3rd Respondent, in my view the 3rd Respondent’s action of arresting the Petitioner and not informing him the reasons for his arrest violated the Petitioner’s fundamental rights warranted by Article 13(1) of the Constitution. The liberty of an individual is a matter of great constitutional importance. This liberty should not be interfered’.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Nevertheless the lack of protection offered to those who are willing to take cases against abusive police officers and the state authorities, means that the law is under-used continues to be employed as a tool by the police to harass people. This not only takes a long-term toll on the victim and his or her family, but on society as a whole, by undermining of civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, detention, filling fabricated charges and restrict the right to movement by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of a state officers and for mis-prosecution. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department.

Please note that the Asian Human Rights Commission has already written separate letters to the Chairperson, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, on this regard.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER