SRI LANKA: An innocent youth persecuted for over six years by the Teldeniya police

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Muttiah Chandra Mohan was arrested after an incident with officers from the Teldeniya Police Station. The officers had arrived at Chandra Mohan’s village in plain clothes and without identifying themselves or the reason for their attack started beating several young men. As they victims did not know that their attackers were police officers they defended themselves. As a result of this Chandra Mohan was arrested and remanded. Whilst on bail he was rearrested by the Terrorist Investigation Department and has now been indicted for engaging in terrorist activities. He was severely tortured in detention on numerous occasions and it is believed that this charge is an act of vengeance by the Teldeniya police officers. He has now been in detention for over four years.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. Muttiah Chandra Mohan (36) is a driver by profession, married and the father of two daughters. He resides with his family at No: 01/B, Ambakotte, Kengalle in the Kandy District.

During July 2006, there was a clash between the policemen from the Teldeniya Police Station and a youth of Ambakotte. At that time the policemen came to the village in plain clothes and beat several young people indiscriminately. As the officers were in plain clothes and did not identify themselves as police officers the young men retaliated and beat them in return. Chandra Mohan was arrested along with some others in this connection and was remanded for 8 months at Bogambara Remand Prison. He was later released on bail and the case is still proceeding (after six years) in the Kandy Magistrate’s Court. As a condition of bail Chandra Mohan was ordered by the court to report to the Teldeniya Police Station on every first Sunday of the month.

On the 6 April 2008, when he was returning from the Teldeniya Police, (after reporting) Chandra Mohan was arrested by the Colombo Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) officers at his house at Ambakotte. He was detained at Gurudeniya in a house for 4 days. He was handcuffed and during the day he was blindfolded. Chandra Mohan was inhumanly tortured during those four days. He was kicked, hung, stripped naked and beaten and later taken to the Colombo TID office where he was detained for 10 months. From the TID office he was transferred to Boossa, where the terrorist suspects are detained without having been charged. He was detained there until October 2009.

Chandra Mohan was finally produced in the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo on the 10 October, 2009 and was remanded in Colombo Remand Prison (CRP) as a terror suspect under Remand No. 5820. His case No: is B/3122 EER 25/2011.

Since 2008 Chandra Mohan has never been given the reason for his arrest. In January 2012 the Attorney General’s Department filled an indictment accusing him of participating in terrorist activities. His High Court case will be called at the Kandy High Court.

Chandra Mohan and his family feel that it is a revenge taken by the police for the incident that happened in 2006 at Ambakotte that he was arrested again tortured and accused.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of torturing innocent by the Sri Lankan police which are 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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