SRI LANKA: Senior military officer arbitrarily arrested, tortured and now faces fabricated charges

Dear friends, 

Lieutenant Colonel Wickramasinghe Arachchige Ranjith Chandrasiri Perera (47) of No: 5B/27, Army Quarters, Kendalanda, Homagama is a commissioned officer attached to the Sri Lanka Army who served as the Commander of the Transit Army Camp at Ratmalana in 2009. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was illegally arrested and severely tortured by police officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Department and the Colombo Crime Division on 14 May 2009. He was not given any reason for his arrest and vaguely accused of committing a crime against the state which he denied vehemently. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe states that as he worked very closely with the former Army General, Sarath Fonseka, who later ran as the common candidate in the presidential elections, he was considered as an enemy of the state. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe still remains in remand prison without trial. This case is yet another illustration of the arbitrary use of the laws of the country by the state authorities. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received Lieutenant Colonel Wickramasinghe Arachchige Ranjith Chandrasiri Perera (47) of No: 5B/27, Army Quarters, Kendalanda, Homagama is a permanent residence of Diayatalawa in Badulla District. He is a commissioned Officer attached to the Sri Lanka Army. In 2009 Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was serving as the Commander of the Transit Army Camp at Ratmalana. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was arrested by a group of officers attached to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police on the 14 May 2009 at around 11.30 am with the vague accusation that he had committed a crime against the state. He vehemently denied the accusation at that time and continues to do so now. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe questioned the arresting officers for further reasons for arresting him. The officers were not able to answer. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe then understood that the arresting officers did not have any reasonable doubt in their hands against him. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was then taken to an unknown location close to Bambalapitiya and a few hours later transferred to the Colombo Crime Division (CCD) in Dematagoda. Then several officers blindfolded him and severely assaulted him on separate occasions during the course of the day. According to Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe he was brought to the Harbour Police Fort Colombo and detained there until the 23 June 2009. 

On that day at around 10.30 am officers again blindfolded him and forcibly took him to an unknown location by a vehicle. At this new location he was severely assaulted until he fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness he could not stand up. The torture caused grievous injuries to him and he was then taken to the CCD at around 10.30 pm that evening. 

On the morning of 24 June at 10:30 he was produced before a doctor who advised the police officers immediately to admit him to a hospital. He was then taken to the National Hospital of Colombo at 3:30 pm. The doctors who examined Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe considered the severity of his injuries and referred him to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). But the police officers working against the doctor’s advice brought him to the Military Hospital, Galle Face Colombo at 5.30pm on the same day and admitted him. The doctors at the Military Hospital admitted him to the ICU and started treatment for his injuries. He remained there until the 14 July and was thereafter brought back to the CCD. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was detained at the CCD until 19 September. Following that, after almost one year of detention without charge or being produced before a court he was transferred to the CID in police headquarters and detained there until 14 August 2010. 

It was on that day, (14 August) that he was produced before the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo, remanded and sent to the Magazine Prison in Colombo. At no time did the magistrate question the length of his illegal detention. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe clearly indentified the police officers who tortured him at the CCD and CID as Anura Senanayake, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Doole, SSP Vaas Gunawardena the director of the CCD, Chief Inspector (CI) Jayathilaka the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the CCD, Inspector of Police (IP) Wijertatne of CCD, Sub Inspector (SI) Jayakody of State Intelligence Service (SIS), Police Constable (PC) Chathuranga of CCD, PC Ranathunga of CCD, PC Rahuman of SIS, PC Rohan of SIS, PC Madushanka and Major Bulathwela attached to the Military Intelligence. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe has filed a fundamental rights application in the Supreme Court on the basis that his rights guaranteed under the Constitution of the country have been violated by these perpetrators. The case was registered as SCFR/879/2009 in the Supreme Court. 

Later Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was produced before the Chief Consultant Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Ananda Samarasekara to assess his medical condition. The medical report pertaining to Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe, prepared by the JMO number O/60304 has clearly stated that there is sufficient medical evidence to support the allegation of assault after 14 May 2009. It further states that Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe was unable to stand on his feet due to severe assault and had fallen unconscious. Clinical notes of the medical records are consistent with the statement in the petitioner. The medical report further records as follows; 

“The findings of presence of contusion, joint pain, body pain, generalize body pain, presence of cervical color (treatment), mild tenderness of the abdomen and poor hydration as observed in the clinical notes on the day of the admission 25-06-2009 to the hospital. Therefore the observation on the medical condition that have been made in this regards in the clinical notes of the medical records are consistent with the statement in the petition” 

The medical report further stated that, 

“The damaged muscle that releases nephrotoxins and other substance and hypovolemic state could finally lead to “Crush syndrome” and acute renal failure. This condition is life threatening situation which is fatal in ordinary course of nature.” 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe is still detained at the Magazine Prison Colombo. He still does not know what charges have been leveled against him by the police officers. He believes that as a military officer he worked very close to General Sarath Fonseka, the former Military Commander of the Army. General Fonseka later became the opponent of the present government as he ran against the incumbent president as the common opposition presidential candidate. Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe vehemently states that he has not committed any crime against the state and executed his duties as a well-disciplined military officer, following the legitimate and lawful orders of his higher ranking officers at all times. 

Lt. Col. Wickramasinghe appeals that he should be released from detention and compensated given redress for the violation of this rights. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of torturing the arrestees 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 and Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations on this regard. 

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