(Hong Kong, March 11, 2008)
The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to the UN Rapporteur on Torture seeking his intervention regarding several Sri Lankan journalists after receiving reliable information that they are being detained at the Terrorism Investigation Division in Colombo where several of them are said to have been tortured. None of them have been charged with any specific offense at the time being taken into custody. Several of them visited the TID on an invitation to make a statement but thereafter were detained. The Free Media Movement has also issued a statement expressing concern about these arrests.
The persons who have been arrested are: Photographer A.G. Gayan Lasantha Ranga, Video Editor Udayanan, V. Jesikaran, J.S. Tissanayagam, Kithsiri Wijesinghe, and Mr. Sivakumar, Spokesman of the Free Media Movemen. They are being detained at the Terrorism Investigation Division, Chaithiya Road, Colombo 01, Sri Lanka. The contact details are: Tel: 94 11 2321839, Fax: 94 11 2321838 and Email: tid@police.lk.
The FMM has expresses its concern that a number of journalist have been taken in for questioning on the 7th and 8th March with some of them held incommunicado for hours. It has further stated that:
The FMM accepts that law enforcement agencies have a right to investigate leads in the public interest and take appropriate action as stipulated by the law. We also hope that due process will be followed regarding the arrested writers and journalists. The right to retain lawyers at police stations while statements are being recorded and their right to inform family and colleagues as to where they are being questioned are basic rules that have to be followed.
We note that these rights are violated more often than not. Maintaining that until proven in a court of law, anyone arrested is innocent and has to be treated as such, the FMM stands for the rights of these writers and journalists and by them as citizens of this country.
Moon Jeong Ho, the Programme Officer in charge of the Urgent Appeals Desk stated that the complaints about torture are received daily from Sri Lanka but hardly any significant action has been taken to deal with this issue. In this particular case the lives of these people are in danger and therefore we call upon everyone to intervene on their behalf.
