SRI LANKA: Anamaduwa Police illegally arrested, detained and tortured a school-boy and filed fabricated criminal charges

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 17 year old school going child was illegally arrested by the police officers attached to the Anamaduwa Police Station, arbitrarily detained and tortured. Later, the police produced the child before the Magistrate of Puttalam with fabricated charges and remanded. When he was in Negombo remand prison a Prison officer also tortured the child. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to Koronchilage Anandalal Aruna Rohana of No.41, Sangattikulama, Anamaduwa, the father of Koronchilage Sujith Aruna Shantha, (17), Sujith is a student of Sangattikulama Junior School. Having passed the Ordinary Level Examination he was preparing to sit for the Advance Level Examinations. On 4 June 2010, during the school interval, Sujith had a confrontation with a 10th grade student by the name of Tharidu during which blows were exchanged. Tharidu suffered a scratch on his face and Sujith reported the incident to the principal. The principal had send Sujith home which he reached at about 12.30 in the afternoon. Tharidu’s father, Stanley Joseph is a well known businessman in the area.

On the same day at about 3pm, six persons in civilian clothes arrived at Sujith’s house saying that they were from the Anamaduwa Police Station. Two of them went to Sujith’s room, two others guarded the front door and the remaining two the rear door. The two persons, who went into Sujith’s room, brought him out of the house holding him by the neck and put him into a brown coloured vehicle that had been parked near the house. Inside the vehicle there was a uniformed police officer (33619). At that moment four of Stanley Joseph’s employees turned up on two motor cycles, and they followed the police vehicle.

On the way to the police station, a constable named Chandratilaka, pushed Sujith to the floor of the vehicle and assaulted him violently. He told Sujith, “I am going to put an end to your thuggery”. At the police station Chandratilaka, dragged Sujith, holding him by the neck, and threw him to the floor near the entry sergeant. While taking down the entry, Chandratilaka repeatedly assaulted Sujith.

At about 4.30pm Sujith’s father went to the police station to visit Sujith. There he had seen Sujith on the floor while Chandratilake was slapping and assaulting him about the head. Sujith’s father demanded to know why Chandratilaka was assaulting his son. Then Chandratilaka had told the father to return to the Police station on the following day.

Thereafter Sujith’s father had left the police station following which another police officer named Ratnayake had taken a steel belt from a cupboard and started beating Sujith on the back.

At about 6pm Sujith’s father returned to the police station to visit Sujith with a dinner parcel. There he had seen his son inside a police cell.

On that particular night Sujith’s father had telephoned the Principal of the school, Mr. Piyasena and had inquired about the incident. The principal had told him that there had been an exchange of blows between Tharidu and Sujith. Also he had told him that he sent Sujith home and Tharidu to the hospital. There the doctors had examined Tharidu and then sent him back to the school where he remained until going home in the afternoon. Tharidu’s grandmother had taken him to the Anamaduwa hospital. On 5 June, at 6pm, Sujith’s father had gone to the hospital and had seen Tharidu. There he had spoken to Tharidu and had inquired about his condition. Tharidu had told him that he was all right and there was nothing serious.

As Sujith’s father was leaving the hospital he met Tharidu’s parents. He asked Stanley what action he was going to take regarding the incident. Stanley replied, “We will see to that at the Police Station”. Then Tharidu’s mother said quite openly, “We got the Police to punch your son properly”.

On the same day Sujith’s father had inquired from the police as to what they were planning to do. They replied that they would produce Sujith at the Magistrate’s Courts at 12.00 noon that day. At 12.30pm Sujith was produced before the acting Magistrate of Puttalam with fabricated charges of assault. There he was remanded and send to the remand prison of Puttalam. Later, Sujith’s father had visited Sujith at the Puttalam prison and had given him food and clothes.

On 6 June 2010, when Sujith’s father returned to Puttalam Prison, he was told that Sujith had been transferred to the Negombo Prison. He returned to the Anamaduwa Police Station, where he was told that Sujith would be released on bail on 10 June.

While Sujith was detained in Negombo Remand Prison, an officer had assaulted Sujith. He told Sujith, “I heard you are a thug in your village. Pradeep of your village told me that you are a thug in your village and told me to treat you with some punches”. Pradeep is a supporter of Stanley. Prison Officers had allocated 2813 as his number and sent him to the YO (Young Offender) ward. In the night Sujith had difficulty in breathing and other inmates had applied “Siddalepaya” (herbal ointment) on his chest. On 7 June in the morning, Sujith had gone to the morning parade with help of the other inmates.

Anamaduwa Police has filled a fabricated false charge against Sujith under case No: B.R 205/10 and produced him at the Magistrate’ Court of Anamaduwa, where he was released on a personal bail of Rs.10, 000.00. The case will be taken up again on 14 October 2010.

On returning home Sujith felt sick again and was taken to Anamaduwa Hospital at about 5.30 in the evening. After examine Sujith, the Doctors had transferred him to Kurunagala General Hospital at 8pm. in an ambulance where he was warded in ward no 23, bed no.19. He was discharged after four days, on the 14 June.

The victim has complained to the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (HRCSL) and has made written complaints to Inspector General of Police (IGP), the National Police Commission (NPC), the OIC Police Station of Anamaduwa, the Attorney General (AG), and National Child Protection Authority (NCPA).

According to the victim the perpetrators, police officer No.33619, Police Constable Chandratilake and Ratnayake are attached to the police station of Anamaduwa and are still serving in the same police station. The victim and his family fear for their lives and seek protection as they seek justice against the perpetrators.

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.

Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right freedom from torture. According to the Article 11 of the constitution No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. 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’.

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.

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka 
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in the case of Kumarasena v. Sub Inspector Shriyantha & Others [SC Application No. 257/93 SC Minutes of 23.05.94] when the police was accused of torturing a young girl, it was clearly stated that:

“The Court in no doubt that the petitioner’s case fell on the side of transgression. The petitioner was a young girl who had been arrested without reasonable grounds and detained for about six hours at a police station. During that time, several police officers, accepting the invitation of the officer making the arrest to play with the “toy” he had fetched, touched her body, squeezed her breasts, pinched her buttocks, addressed her as “love bird”, questioned her as to whether she wore underwear and invited her to come out with one of them. The Court held that the petitioner had been subjected to degrading treatment.” 

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
The State of Sri Lanka sign and ratified the CAT on 3 January 1994. Following state obligations Sri Lanka adopted Act number 22 of 1994 the law adopted by the Sri Lankan parliament making torture a crime that can be punishable for minimum seven years and not less than ten years on being proven guilty. The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is suppose to file indictments in the case where credible evidence were found on torturing people by state officers.

International Convention on Right of the Child (ICRC) 
The State of Sri Lanka signed the International Convention on Rights of the Child (ICRC) on 26 Jan 1990 and ratified it on 12 Jul 1991. Further Sri Lanka amended its criminal law of the country several times to complete its pledges to the ICRC committee. The State of Sri Lanka is obliged to the UN to protect and guarantee the rights of the child to all Sri Lankan children.

National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) 
The State of Sri Lanka established a NCPA that has special powers to investigate the incidents of child abuse other than department of Police. This institution having a mandate on its own intervention to make any such investigation to child related cases.

According to the National Child Protection Authority Act No. 50 of 1998 the NCPA was established. The major purpose of the NCPA was formulating a national policy on the prevention of child abuse and the protection and treatment of children who are victims of such abuse; for the co-ordination and monitoring of action against all forms of child abuse; and for matters connected therewith or incidental there to.

Further in December 1996 the President of Sri Lanka has appointed a task force on child protection as well.

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, arbitrary detention, torturing the boy and 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. Further, please also request the NPC and the IGP to have a special investigation into the malpractices of the police officers for abusing the state officers’ powers illegally in favor of private parties.

Please also request the Prison authorities of Sri Lanka to have a disciplinary action against the officers involved in torturing the child.

Please note that the Asian Human Rights Commission has already written separate letters to the Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture of United Nations on this regard.

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