Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to inform you of the severe torture of Mr. Illukumbura Mudiyanselage Mudiyanse, a 49-year-old trader, by the Thalathuoya police on 9 June 2006. Due to torture, the victim received considerable injuries over most parts of his body and suffered complete loss of hearing in his left ear. According to the victim, the Thalathuoya police falsely charged him with selling cannabis due to his complaint against a timber mill owner who has good connections with the Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the Thalathuoya police. Despite his complaint to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, no serious action has yet been taken against the alleged perpetrators.
According to the victim, he got into a heated disagreement with the owner of the local “Sugath Timber Mills”, who refused to pay him his due broker fee of Rs. 9000 (approx. USD 100), plus the additional cost of damages to the culvert and the road due to the transportation of timber logs. Mr. Mudiyanse lodged a formal complaint against the owner with the Thalathuoya police station on 8 June 2006, but they took no action in the matter.
At around 1:30pm on the following day (June 9), Police Sergeant Thushara visited Mr. Mudiyanse at his family home, where he then proceeded to shout at him, using extremely abusive language. That same night, at around 8:00 pm, two Thalathuoya police officers in civilian dress entered Mr. Mudiyanse’s home. They stated that the Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the Thalathuoya police station wished to get a formal statement from him, following his complaint. They then took Mr. Mudiyanse in a jeep to the police station. Upon arrival, Mr. Mudiyanse claims that he saw the timber mill owner with whom he had had a disagreement the previous day.
The OIC arrested Mr. Mudiyanse on the charges of selling ganja – an allegation which Mr. Mudiyanse ardently denies, and which was not substantiated by the local police with any conclusive evidence. According to Mr. Mudiyanse, the OIC took a green hose-pipe and proceeded to beat him over the head with it at least 20 times. He then placed a small packet wrapped in paper in Mr. Mudiyanse’s hands, saying Here is the ganja!. Mr. Mudiyanse threw the packet onto the officer’s table.
Some hours later, another police officer ordered Mr. Mudiyanse to place his fingerprints on the packet of ganja. Mr. Mudiyanse out rightly refused to do so; and was again taken to the OIC, who allegedly ordered the police officer to obtain Mr. Mudiyanse’s fingerprints on heated lacquer. The police officer did as requested; severely burning Mr. Mudiyanse’s fingers in the process. Mr. Mudiyanse was then detained overnight at the police station.
The following day (June 10), the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) made one of his routine inspection visits to the Thalathuoya police station. When he came to the detainee lock-up, Mr. Mudiyanse told him of his ordeal, and that he was completely innocent of the charges that had been brought against him. The ASP questioned the Thalathuoya OIC on this. After the ASP left, the OIC came to the lock-up and verbally abused Mr. Mudiyanse.
Mr. Mudiyanse was later examined by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) of the Thalathuoya Government Hospital, and the following day, was presented before the additional magistrate of Kandy, who remanded him to the Bogambara prison. Mr. Mudiyanse was subsequently released on the June 15, on bail of Rs. 1000 (approx. 10 USD).
Mr. Mudiyanse incurred injuries to his head and most other parts of his body, and burns on his left thumb, and suffered complete loss of hearing in his left ear as a result of his torture. He lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka regarding the incident with the help of a local human rights organization in June 2006 (Reg. No.:- FR/KD/T/124/06/II).
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below, expressing your grave concern and moral indignation of the completely unlawful, unwarranted and unethical behaviour of the officers of the Thalathuoya police station in the illegal arrest and detention and brutal torture of Mr. Mudiyanse.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
SRI LANKA: Man brutally tortured by police after allegedly being implicated with false charges
Name of victim: Mr. Illukumbura Mudiyanselage Mudiyanse; A 49-year-old trader and resident of Thalathuoya, Kandy district III, Kandy division, Sri Lanka
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Owner of the local “Sugath Timber Mills” in Thalathuoya
2. Officer-In-Charge (OIC) of the Thalathuoya police station in Kandy
3. Police Sergeant Thushara attached to the Thalathuoya police station
4. Other police officers attached to the Thalathuoya police station
Date of incident: 9 June 2006
Place of incident: Thalathuoya police station
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding illegal arrest, fabrication of charges and subsequent torture of Mr. Illukumbura Mudiyanselage Mudiyanse, by the Thalathuoya police on 9 June 2006.
According to the information I have received, the victim lodged a complaint with the Thalathuoya police station against the owner of the local Sugath Timber Mills on 8 June 2006 due to some personal dispute. Instead of investigating his complaint, the following day (June 9), Police Sergeant Thushara visited the victim’s house and shouted at him, using extremely abusive language. That same night, he was taken to the police station by two Thalathuoya police officers in civilian dress, who informed him that the Officer-In-Charge wished to get a formal statement from him following his complaint. No arrest warrant was produced to the victim.
However, according to the victim, when they arrived in the police station, the victim was falsely charged with selling ganja by the OIC, who brutally tortured him. The OIC allegedly placed a small packet wrapped in paper in the victim’s hands, saying “Here is the ganja!” The victim says that the timber mill owner whom he made a complaint against was present throughout this. The OIC further ordered the police officer to obtain Mr. Mudiyanse’s fingerprints on heated lacquer, when he refused to place his fingerprints on the packet of ganja. Subsequently, the victim’s fingers were severely burnt.
The following day (June 10), the victim told Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) about his incident when he was making one of his routine inspection visits to the Thalathuoya police station. The ASP questioned the Thalathuoya OIC on this but did not make any attempt to release him or take action against the OIC. On June 11, the victim was produced before the additional magistrate of Kandy, who remanded him to the Bogambara prison. He was subsequently released on June 15 on bail. He complains that he suffered injuries to his head and most other parts of his body, and burns on his left thumb, and has also suffered complete loss of hearing in his left ear due to his torture.
I am deeply disturbed by this flagrant abuse of state-appointed power and authority by the Thalathuoya police in their unwarranted, unlawful and wholly unethical persecution of Mr. Mudiyanse. Illegal arrest and detention, the fabrication of criminal charges and torture is a severe crime and is in direct violation of Sri Lankan constitution and the UN Convention against Torture (CAT), to which Sri Lanka is a State party.
It is my understanding that police torture is not an exception, but rather a routine reality in Sri Lanka. This is simply unacceptable. As long as cases like Mr. Mudiyanse’s continue to fall through the cracks of the already paper-thin justice system, and state officers continue to be immune to the very laws which they have been appointed to protect and enforce, there can be no rule of law in Sri Lanka.
I therefore strongly urge you to immediately inquire into this incident and take action against OIC and other officers of the Thalathuoya police station, who are responsible for the victim’s illegal arrest, torture and fabrication of charges against him. They must be prosecuted under the CAT Act no. 22 of 1994. If the charges are found to have been fabricated then the Thalathuoya police must drop the charges and compensate the victim for the injuries he has had to suffer. I further urge you to suspend the alleged perpetrators from their job while the investigation is going on to ensure the security of the victim. The Government of Sri Lanka should strictly enforce the CAT Act to prevent further torture in the future.
I look forward to your prompt and effective response in this matter.
Yours sincerely,
———————–
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657
Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk
2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
3. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
Email: chandralaw@police.lk
4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
5. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk
6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (general)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
