SRI LANKA: Criminal Investigation Department officers illegally arrested, detained and tortured a man and denied him the right to medical treatment

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Sri Lankan Navy arrested a civilian and later handed him over to officers of the Maravila Police Station. They in turn handed over the victim to officers of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Later the CID officers tortured the victim and detained him for 6 days without providing the necessary urgently needed medical treatment for the injuries suffered due to the torture. He was later produced before the Magistrate of Negombo and remanded. The Magistrate ordered a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) to examine the victim. However, the JMO did not conduct an impartial examination.

 

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to Balapuwaduge Suresh Sumith Kumar Mendis a resident of Ambakandawila, Iranawila, Chilaw, he is an experienced fisherman. Due to the political situation in Sri Lanka Sumith attempted to enter Australia by sea as he believed that if he tried to leave the country by air he would be arrested at Katunayaka International Air Port (KIA). However, despite of his application to remain in Australia on political grounds and on the basis that he would be subject to torture if he was returned to Sri Lanka, his application for asylum was refused. He was deported to Sri Lanka in October 2009. Sumith’s brother, Indika, also who made a similar refugee claim to Australian authorities was also deported. The officers attached to the CID at KIA arrested Indika who was tortured, produced before the courts and remanded.

In early August, 2010 Sumith was contacted by unknown caller who told him he was calling from the Australian High commission (AHC) in Sri Lanka. The caller requested Sumith to come to the AHC to collect his and his brother’s belongings that they left in Christmas Island. As this request happened around one year after they were deported, Sumith suspected the caller. Later, he contacted his Attorney-at-Law and sought legal assistance. Following this Sumith contacted the unknown caller and informed him that his lawyer could pick up his belongings with his written consent.

A few days later Sumith received another similar message from another unknown caller who revealed himself as an officer of the Criminal Investigation Division. This caller asked Sumith to come to the CID. Sumith gave that particular number to his lawyer who contacted the caller and verified that he was, in fact, from the CID. The lawyer informed them that he was ready to come to the CID with Sumith for any legal inquiry or interrogation at any time and requested an appointment which was duly arranged.

However, irrespective of the above mentioned situation Sumith was arrested by officers of the Sri Lankan Navy on 14 August 2010 at Negombo. These officers subsequently handed over him to the Maravila Police Station who then passed him on to officers of the CID on 15 August 2010.

Sumith was detained at the CID headquarters along with some others who had lived in Negombo and been deported from Christmas Island, Australia.

On 18 August 2010 Sumith was taken to his home town and severely tortured by the CID officers in front of other villagers. The torture was witnessed by his mother, wife and many other relatives. Sumith’s wife was verbally abused and threatened by the officers. The police officers used defamatory words even against the lawyer who represent the Sumith on many occasions in front of them.

Later on the instructions of the relatives Sumith’s lawyer contacted the relevant police officers at the CID and informed them that Sumith had a fundamental right not to be tortured. After witnessing his condition Sumith’s relatives asked the police officers to allow Sumith to get medical treatment.

Sumith was detained in the CID office for 6 days from 15 to 22 of August. Throughout the whole period he was not provided the necessary emergency medical treatment by the officers. He was produced before the Magistrate of Negombo and charged with committing a crime under the provisions of Immigrants and Emigrants Act No. 20 of 1948. He was accused of aiding and abetting illegally emigration. Then he was remanded by the Magistrate and sent to the Remand Prison, Negombo. There he again requested medical treatment from the Prison officers but was refused because he did not reveal his condition at the time he was admitted to the prison.

Then on 27 August, the lawyer who appeared on his behalf in the Magistrate’s Court submitted the facts pertaining to Sumith’s medical condition and proceeded for an order for medical treatment. Then the Magistrate ordered the Prison authorities to produce Sumith before the Judicial Medical Officers (JMO). When Sumith was later produced before the JMO he accused Sumith by saying the CID officers did not torture him. But Sumith repeatedly stated that he was tortured by officers attached to the CID.

While Sumith was in CID custody he was asked to give details of Indika’s whereabouts or request him to surrender. Sumith’s lawyer was able to surrender Indika to the CID on 22 August. It was only 10 days before Indika was released on bail from the remand prison after he was arrested in relation with the Australian deportation case.

Sumith’s family fear for his life as they are aware of many reported incidents in which persons have been killed in police custody. The lawyer and the relatives of Sumith have made an official complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) as well. When the lawyer tried to meet his client for necessary consultations the officers did not allow him to do so informing him that he required special permission from the Director CID. The lawyer then lodged a complaint with the Director CID on the violation of his professional rights as an Attorney-at-Law.

 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of arbitrarily arrest, detention and torture of persons at the hands of the police and the filing of fabricated charges against innocent persons, all of which is illegal under international and local law. The Asian Human Rights Commission has also observed that the Sri Lankan police use torture as a means of investigation and to force the detainees to confess to or admit to crimes that they have never committed.

Using torture as a tool for investigation has been condemned as a barbaric practice for centuries but it is widely used in Sri Lanka as a systemic practice. The Asian Human Rights Commission has noted and reported hundreds of individual cases in which innocent persons have suffered to get rid of these cases with the prolong delays in court proceedings. The sacred common law principal of ‘innocent unless proven guilty’ has been accepted even by the Constitution of Sri Lanka. Furthermore the duty of the prosecution to prove cases with credible evidence, sometime using modern scientific evidence, seems not to be practically seen in the administration of the Criminal Justice system of Sri Lanka.

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

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka

In the case of SCFR/ 42/2002, Deshapriya vs. Captain Weerakoon, Commanding Officer, Sri Lanka Navy Ship “Gamunu

” and others,

As Per Fernando, J.

“In the Forces, command is a sacred trust, and discipline is paramount. He was under a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure that persons held in custody (like the petitioner) were treated humanely and in accordance with the law. That included monitoring the activities of his subordinates, particularly those who had contact with detainees. The fact that the petitioner was being held in custody under his specific orders made his responsibility somewhat greater,………… 
…………. If the petitioner did not receive medical treatment for his injuries, the denial of medical treatment was itself inhuman treatment violative of Article 11, for which the 1 st respondent shares responsibility”.

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 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.

Further the Asian Human Rights Commission has continuously exposed the way the witness and the victims are getting harass and in some occasions getting killed to suppress the justice by revealing the individual cases happened in island wide. Further we have urged the State of Sri Lanka to adopt a law for the protection of witness protection.

 

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 finally threatening the witness 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. 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 Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture of United Nations on this regard.

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