(Hong Kong, April 9, 2008)
The Asian Human Rights Commission has written to the Attorney General of Sri Lanka requesting him to appeal against the judgement of the Negombo High Court delivered on 2nd April acquitting the six accused who were part of a special team working under an Assistant Superintendent of Police and who carried out the arrest of Gerald Perera who suffered severe torture during the time he was detained in police custody. The finding of the High Court of acquittal was the very opposite of the finding of the Supreme Court which found several police officers as having violated Gerald Pereras rights under the Constitution of Sri Lanka by illegal arrest, illegal detention and torture. Gerald Perera was an innocent citizen arrested on mistaken identity. He was later killed to prevent him from giving evidence against police officers in the torture case filed by the Attorney General.
The lawyers for Gerald Pereras widow have given detailed reasons as grounds for appeal in a letter written to the Attorney General requesting for such an appeal. Please see: UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Police accused of Gerald Perera’s torture are acquitted at http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2008/2812/. Under Sri Lankan law the prosecutor, which is the Attorney General, has the power to appeal if there are serious grounds to challenge the High Court judgement. On many occasions the Attorney General has used such powers. Particularly in recent months there have been some judgements in the High Court where police officers are charged with torture by the Attorney General but acquitted by the court and appealed by the Attorney General. One such was the well-known case of Palitha Thissa Kumara in which a Sub-Inspector of Police attached to the Welippena Police Station severely beat a man with a cricket pole and then forced a TB patient to spit into his mouth. The High Court of Kalutara acquitted the police officer of torture charges. The Attorney General and the aggrieved party appealed to the Court of Appeal and on 31st March the court granted leave to appeal.
The AHRC has pointed out to the Attorney General that the Deputy Solicitor General (DSG) who prosecuted this case has established a case by proving the arrest of the torture victim by this special police team who had the sole custody of Gerald Perera for the entire period of his detention at the Wattala Police Station. The DSG relied on the well established principle that once a prima facie case is established, if the police officers fail to give an explanation compatible with their innocence they could be found guilty. However the High Court judge did not consider this legal basis on which the entire case was based.
Commenting on the request made to the Attorney General on the appeal, Mr. Basil Fernando the Executive Director of the Asian Human Rights Commission said, Here is a case where a man is murdered in order to prevent him giving evidence and then his inability to do so results in an acquittal. Police officers do not torture people in the open, they do so in secrecy. To request direct proof under those circumstances is to request the impossible. It is quite usual in law to demand an explanation when a prima facie case is established. Therefore there is very strong ground for the Attorney General to appeal.
Mr. Fernando went on to say, There is a very grave responsibility on the part of the Attorney General in this case. If the Attorney General had not filed an indictment in which the deceased had to give evidence he would not have been killed. Now the Attorney General cannot turn and say that because he is dead there is nothing that can be done. The problems posed in this case are matters of grave social concern and therefore, the Attorney General who represents the state must do all he can to create the legal basis on which such cases can proceed.
Besides the AHRC many other organisations have also written to the Attorney General to appeal in this case.
Please also see the Urgent Appeal AHRC-UAU-019-2008 UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Police accused of Gerald Perera’s torture are acquitted.
