SRI LANKA: Alleged extrajudicial killings of two men by the police on the pretext of “crossfire”

SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killings; violation of the right to life; impunity; dysfunction of criminal justice system
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that two men who surrendered to the Magistrate’s Court of Galle were taken into custody by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) of Galle from the court premises on 24 November 2006 and allegedly killed by the Ambalangoda Police on November 26. The police claim that they were killed in self defence during the encounter but no proper inquiry has yet been conducted to exam the police version to date. The AHRC is also deeply concerned by the Magistrate’s action taken in favour of the police which was beyond his authority and in violation of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

CASE DETAILS:

On 24 November 2006, two brothers named Mr. Latdu Karatunga (44) and Mr. Ladu Daramatunga (38), who are wanted by the police, surrendered themselves to the Magistrate’s Court of Galle by filing a motion for that purpose through an attorney at law. Fearing that they would be tortured if they surrendered to the police, the two men surrendered to the Magistrate’s Court instead to seek protection.

Before the motion was taken up for supporting before the Magistrate, the two men were seated inside the court. Meanwhile the magistrate who was already hearing the case took a recess. At this stage a group of policemen from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) at Galle entered the court in a rush and assaulted the two men inside the court itself before taking them away. Later the officers from the SIU are said to have handed over the two detainees to the Ambalangoda police, who allegedly shot the two men to death on 26 November 2006.

According to the police version given at the inquest by the magistrate as well as report in the press, the police took these two suspects to a place where firearms were said to be hidden. But when they went to the spot the two men tried to take up arms and attacked the police.  Therefore the police in self defence shot at the two and killed them.

The two bodies were taken to Balapitiya base hospital and the post mortem was conducted on the bodies by a District Medical Officer.  However, this hospital does not have proper facilities for conducting post mortems. The closest hospital in the Galle district with facilities for post mortems and with the availability of a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) is Karapitiya Hospital. However, strangely, the police did not take the bodies to this hospital.

At the inquest the same Magistrate from whose court the two victims were taken into custody presided over the inquiry. The Magistrate then concluded that it was a justifiable homicide, despite the fact that the criminal procedure code (CPC) does not give power to magistrates to decide on the justifiability or otherwise of a homicide at the stage of an inquest.

Instead the magistrate should record all the statements, call for inquiries under the CPC by the police and leave the decision of prosecuting to the Attorney General’s Department. If there is sufficient evidence of death by shooting, the Attorney General would then file an indictment in the high court and it will be for the high court judge on examination of all the evidence before him to decide on the defence that may be taken by the police by way of self defence. If the case is heard before a jury it is the jury that will decide on the matter. Where the case is taken up before a high court judge without a jury, the judge will then decided the matter. However, this whole process will be stiffled when the magistrate makes a pronouncement of justifiable homicide at the initial stage of an inquiry.

Thus, the following violations of rights of the two men have taken place in this alleged incident:

a. abduction of persons from the premises of a court while they were before the court to surrender is a gross abuse of the rights of a person for security as guaranteed by Article 9 of the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Sri Lanka is a state party;
b. torture of a person allegedly at the magistrate’s court and outside is a violation of article 7 of the ICCPR which forbids torture, cruel and other inhuman punishment;
c.  the shooting of persons while in police custody is an extra judicial killing which is both murder and a violation of article 6 of the ICCPR. Even if it is actually true that the two men were killed in ‘crossfire’ as claimed by the police, the police should still be accountable for their deaths as they are responsible to ensure the security of persons in their custody.
d. deprivation of a proper post mortem is a violation of the right to equality before law and a right to an adequate remedy under Article 2(3) of the ICCPR;
e. declaration of justifiable homicide by the magistrate at the end of an inquest is a deprivation of a right to a fair trial under article 14(1) of the ICCPR.

The state is under an obligation to reinvestigate this matter, to examine the bodies and to conduct a proper post mortem inquiry and also to record statements through a proper and competent criminal investigation unit and to bring the cases before the court so that they may decide the matter on the basis of merit.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to conduct a prompt and thorough inquiry about this alleged extrajudical killings of the two men. Please particularly urge the Attorney General’s Department to inquire this incident in order to make possible decision of prosecution against alleged perpetrators.

 

 

 

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