SRI LANKA: An innocent child was illegally arrested, tortured and produced before court with fabricated charges

Dear friends, 

Ms. N. Agnes Malini of No:18, Gala Landa, Manikhinna in the district of Kandy is a widow and the mother of a 17-year-old boy named T. Yoganathan. Yoganathan was illegally arrested and severely tortured by police officers attached to the Manikhinna Police Station on 8 December 2010. Yoganathan lost his father in his early childhood and started work to help support the two of them. He was employed at a hotel in Polonnaruwa but left the place due to the cruelty he was subjected to by the owner. Shortly afterwards, he was arrested by the Manikhinna Police and detained in the station for period of one week where he was severely tortured. Then the police filled three fabricated charges against him in the Magistrate’s Court of Kandy while knowing that they had already arrested the real suspect who agreed to plead guilty for all three cases in court. Yoganathan and his mother appeal for his release from these cases and justice for the torture he endured. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Ms. N. Agnes Malini of No:18, Gala Landa, Manikhinna in the district of Kandy is the widowed mother of one son, T. Yoganathan (17) who studied only up to year 9 at Manikhinna Udagama Maha Vidyalaya. Malini’s husband T. Ravikumara, Yoganathan’s father, died when he was very small. 

At the time Malini was employed as a house cleaner to run her family and support the child. Due to poverty Yoganathan too was employed at the ‘Camo Hotel’ at Polonnaruwa. Within two weeks Yoganathan was severely punished by his employer for breaking a plate. Then Yoganathan decided to leave the hotel and return to his mother in Kandy. For that he took Rs. 800/= as he was not paid his salary from the hotel and walked out. 

Later Malini learned that the proprietor of the hotel made a complaint to the police to say that Yoganathan had robbed him of Rs. 45,000.00, Rs. 100,000.00 worth of jewelry and a mobile phone. No charges were ever laid regarding this allegation. 

Yoganathan, who had returned home to Manikhinna, was arrested on 8 October 2010 by officers attached to the Manikhinna Police Station while he was getting out of a bus. He was then taken to the police station and illegally detained for a period of one week. While he was in custody he was severely tortured by the police officers each night. The torture included being suspended from the ceiling and beaten with poles by police officers, Mr. Munasinghe and Mr. Hapugaskumbura and another police officer. 

While he was being tortured he was forced to accept that he engaged in house breaking and robbery. Due to the severe torture Yoganathan told the officers that he was ready to accept all the allegations. Then he was brought to three different houses respectively and forced to admit that he broke into all those houses at night and robbed them. 

Due to the fear of further torture Yoganathan accepted these allegations but he vehemently states that at the time those cases of house breaking and robbery occurred he was not in the district of Kandy and was employed at Polonnaruwa, far away from the said location. 

Yoganathan was produced before the Magistrate’s Court of Kandy and detained at Raja Veediya Remand Prison. He was later transferred to Watadeniya Verallawatte Children’s Home. Yoganathan was granted bail on the 27 June 2011. The conditions of the bail were Rs. 7,500.00 in cash and two sureties valued at of Rs. 100,000.00 each and another at Rs. 50,000.00. 

Later Malini learned that the police officers attached to the Manikhinna Police Station filed three cases against Yoganathan under the case numbers No: B/168, B/136 and B/80 in the Magistrate’s Court of Kandy. Cases No: B 136 and B/80 are supposed to be called on 29 August 2011. 

While Yoganathan was detained in Manikhinna Police Station he observed that one other elder suspect was arrested and brought to the station. This person later told the police officers in Yoganathan’s presence that he accepted all the cases of house breaking and the robberies of which Yoganatha was also accused. 

Then the police officers who tortured Yoganathan told him that, “In vain you accepted the allegation as now we have found the man. He is also being arrested and remanded and he is ready to plead guilty in the court for the same cases”. 

When Yoganathan was remanded in Rajaveediya Rimand Prison he met that suspect who asked Yoganathan why he accepted those allegations because he had already accepted all of them. 

Hence Yoganathan and Malini both feel that the police officers tortured Yoganathan and forced him to made several confessions without making proper investigations. Furthermore, the police officers filed fabricated charges against him. Despite of the actual culprit admitting to the charges he has not been discharged and will be tried on fabricated charges. Therefore his fundamental rights are being denied. Yoganathan and Malini strongly appeal that Yoganathan will be released from these fabricated charges and compensated for the torture he endured. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

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

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. 

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, illegal detention, torturing 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. 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. 

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on this regard. 

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