SRI LANKA: A man succumbs to his injuries of torture by the Kirindiwela police

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man who was severely tortured later succumbed to his injuries. He was arrested by police officers attached to the Kirindiwela Police Station who later fabricated the story that the deceased had fallen out of a police vehicle. However, several villagers witnessed the deceased being assaulted about the head and being beaten with a pole. The police intentionally are now denying the family of the deceased by avoiding a proper investigation into the torture and murder. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to Mr. Amarasinghe Arachchige Simon Amarasinghe of No. 239/6, Thel Kakuna, Wanaluwawa, his elder brother Amarasinghe Arachchige David of No. 172/B, Siyambalagahawatte, Papiliyawala in the Kirindiwela Police Division succumbed to injuries suffered due to severe torture while he was in the custody of the Kirindiwela police on 13 August 2010.

David was arrested by the officers attached to the Kirindiwela Police Station on 13 August and brought to the station by a police TATA cab together with the arresting offices. At around 8.40pm the people present on the side of the main road at Papiliyawala noticed the police cab coming from Papiliyawala and stopping at a boutique.

The uniformed police officers who got down from the front seat of the cab started to inspect two boys who were sitting on the concrete bench near the boutique. The two boys, Mahesh and Ariyasinghe were local villagers. They were thoroughly searched by the officers for some time. Meanwhile the people on the road side were keen to see what was happening. They witnessed that David, a well known villager, alighted from the cab and was watching the conduct of officers who were searching the boys.

The officers who did not find anything suspicious with the boys noted that David had alighted and was watching them. Without warning a police officer beat David on his back and hip area with a pole. David started pleading loudly to the witnesses asking that they rescue him.

The officer dragged and pulled David towards the vehicle where he hit his head against the rear door. While he was doing so he shouted to David, “Are you trying to escape from us?” The officer angrily repeated the question which David was unable to answer because he was stunned by the beating. Then two officers had to push David into the jeep as he was no longer able to walk or move without assistance.

The assaulting officer got into the front seat of the vehicle when then moved off towards Dangolla.

A large number of people who were getting ready to attend a funeral in front of the house of Mr. Dayarathna witnessed the assault and particularly the act of intentionally striking his head against the body of the cab near the rear door. Many of the witnesses who are keen to see justice against this incident are ready to give their testimonies. They are categorically state that they can clearly identify the police perpetrators.

David was first brought to the Kirindiwela Police Station and then admitted to the Government Hospital of Radawana. The hospital authorities transferred David to the National Hospital of Colombo as the condition was serious due to the gravity of the head injuries caused during the assault by the officers. Amarasinghe Arachchige David died a short time later.

On 14 August, two police officers went to the house of the victim’s brother, Simon, on a motorbike. They looked at him without saying anything and then left. Later another two police officers arrived. One of them was Sub Inspector (SI) Kollure. SI Kollure touched Simon’s hand in a kindly manner and asked him to come to the police station with him to finalize the documentation with regarding the death of his brother. Simon refused and told the officers that he did not want to go to the station. The other officer present told Simon that the police would look after all the expenses of the funeral and would not allow anything wrong to happen in the future. Though Simon told them he had to go to his parent’s house they pleaded with him to accompany then to the police station and give a statement. They told him that they would help to get the body release without any hindrance from the hospital authorities.

Finally Simon went to the police station where he found a tense situation. A large crowd had gathered and the police officers were standing in readiness. Two higher ranking officers were directing them. The officers went to Simon and told him that in order for the body to be released he had to sign a statement but he refused.

Then SI Kollure asked Simon and one of his relatives to accompany him to the National Hospital of Colombo where they were taken in a police vehicle. At the hospital Simon was taken to the mortuary where SI Kollure partially showed him David’s body. He then ordered the hospital staff at the scene not to allow anybody to see the body. Simon saw a Magistrate arriving who made some and then he understood that the police were rushing to get the body released without a proper examination.

The Post Mortem Examination was finally conducted on 15 August and SI Kollure and another officer were present inside the mortuary with the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). After about an hour the JMO came out of the mortuary and informed Simon that the death was caused by a head injury received when David feel to the ground from the police vehicle. Simon and his relatives vociferously denied the findings. The JMO then admitted that while there was a bruise on David’s chest it was probably due to the attempt by the doctors to artificially palpate David’s heart. Simon realised that the officers were trying to establish the case that David had fallen from the cab while it was in motion. Simon questioned the JMO that if, indeed, David fallen from running cab then there should be further injuries such as grazing and contusions. Simon told the JMO that there were abundant witnesses who would testify as to how David was assaulted and how the police officers had dashed his head against the body of the cab. However, the JMO simply left the scene and Simon noted that SI Kollure and the other police officer were happy with the result of the autopsy.

Simon categorically states David’s arrest and detention was illegal and arbitrary as he has not involved in committing any crime.

Simon and his relatives are keen to seek justice in the murder of their brother David. They state that police did not conduct an impartial inquest into David’s death and that they are intentionally avoiding the recording of statements from the most important eye witness of the crime. They are intentionally delaying and neglecting to make necessary scene visit to the incident. They are intentionally avoiding the production of the relevant evidence including blood stains from the vehicle to the court for examination by the Government Analyst. They state that the police are misleading the Magistrate’s Court and are not proceeding with a proper investigation in accordance with Criminal Procedure Code and the Departmental Orders.

Simon firmly believes that police officers attached to the Kirindiwela Police Station will not carry out an impartial inquiry against their own officers who are directly responsible for this torture and murder. They are asking the higher authorities to direct the Special Investigation Unite (SIU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police to conduct an impartial and prompt investigation in order to bring the police perpetrators before the law.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of arbitrarily arrest, detentions and torture of citizens at the hands of the police which is illegal under international and local law and which have taken place at different police stations in the country over the past few years. The Asian Human Rights Commission has observed that Sri Lankan police ha has used torture as instrument to terrorize innocent persons as an illegal instrument and harass the public.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right 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 Sriyani Silva v. Iddamalgoda, OIC Payagala & Others- (2003) 2 SLR 63, as per Fernando J,

“I hold that Article 11 (read with Article 13(4)) recognizes a right not to be deprived of life-whether by way of punishment or otherwise-and, by necessary implication, a right to life. That right must be interpreted broadly, and the jurisdiction conferred by the Constitution on this Court for the sole purpose of protecting fundamental rights against executive action must be deemed to have conferred all that is reasonably necessary for this Court to protect those rights effectively. (ch. Article 118(b))” 

In another case SCFR 691/2000 in WAD Nilusha Hemali v. OC SL Corp of Military Police, a similar opinion was expressed by Bandaranayak J.

The fact that the petitioner was taken handcuffed in a private vehicle to the Dankotuwa down and “exhibited” in the manner spoken to by the petitioner in my view, is an affront of the petitioner’s dignity as a human being and amounts to “degrading treatment” within the meaning of Article 11. 

In another case where person was arrested and died after he was tortured by the prison officers Supreme Court observed as follows:

S.C. (FR) Application No. 700/2002, Case of Lama Hewage Lal, Wewalage Rani Fernando and others v. Officer-in-Charge, Minor Offences, Seeduwa Police Station, Seeduwa and others, as per Bandaranayake J,

“Admittedly in the present case under consideration, the deceased had not been in the prison for even a few hours before he was assaulted by some of the officers. In a matter of less than 48 hours after being brought into the Negombo prison the deceased had passed away. The medical evidence, clearly indicates that the deceased could not have sustained the injuries he had suffered due to an ‘Ordinary force being used for restraining’ considering the fact that the deceased was in good health at the time he was handed over to the Negombo prison; that he was severely assaulted by some of the prison officials; that his death had occurred within a short period thereafter and the circumstances on which the deceased has come to his death, it is apparent that his death was as a result of the assault on him while he was at the Negombo Prison”. 

AHRC has recorded hundreds of cases where people were killed after they were arrested by the police and tortured. The Presidential Commissions of Investigation of Cases of Disappearances by the Sri Lankan governments has officially recorded more than thirty six thousand cases happened throughout the country only in between 1989-1991 which expose the practice of Sri Lanka Police that arresting innocent detaining, torturing them finally killing the detainees instead of hiding the evidence. AHRC has classified this practice of extrajudicial killing by the state authorities as one of the endemic problem in Sri Lanka.

In recent past Sri Lanka police has adopted a policy of killing the suspect in the name of eliminating the organize criminals. In many cases reported vehemently shows innocents getting killed in this barbaric practice. None of these cases getting investigated intentionally by the police. Even the judiciary of the country has not shown an interest bringing justice against these incidents.

The reported cases clearly show all the necessary legal elements of systematic and widespread practice of killing innocents under this practice by police officers.

This whole practice happen amidst the Departmental Orders of Sri Lanka police have expressly made rules to OICs of the police stations making them responsible to protect the detainees after they get arrest. The officers are supposed even to maintain public records on the health, foods, all the movements and behaviors of detainees.

The Constitution of the country expressly only allow the judiciary to make punishments to those who have found guilty after fair trial. But this practice of killing detainees show how the police officers torturing detainees as punitive action sometime goes to the extent of killing them.

This practice imposes against the poorest of the poor in the country. It necessarily used to harass and terrorize the public to make them silent while many of the fundamental rights and democratic rights guaranteed even by the Constitution of the country were curtail vehemently. One the other hand this shows how the state of Sri Lanka failed to fulfill its state responsibility to international human rights conventions with UN domestically getting implemented. Adopting of policy of killing citizens in the name of combating criminals clearly shows state unwillingness of respecting internationally accepted human rights and norms. The cases in question show the inability of the state law enforcement agencies that they are no longer willing and able to implement the rule of law in the country instead of maintain the law and order of the country.

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 the undermining of civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity.

The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) was signed by the State of Sri Lanka and ratified on 3 January 1994. Following state obligations Sri Lanka adopted Act No. 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 supposed to file indictments in the case where credible evidence is found on the torturing of people by state officers.

Furthermore, the Asian Human Rights Commission has continuously exposed the way the witness and the victims are getting harassed and on some occasions even killed to suppress the justice. Furthermore 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 and killing by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country. 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 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of the United Nations on this regard.

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