Dear _________,
SRI LANKA: Arrest and detention of man in lieu of his son by the Kahawatte police
Name of victim: Premasiri Uduwatte, 53 years old, a resident of 20 B, Galpottawala, Palmadulla. He has three children.
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Muthukuda, Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Kahawatte Police Station
2. Sub Inspector (SI) Rodrigo and other policemen of the Kahawatte Police Station
3. Weeraratna alias Mahathun, a wealthy gem merchant
Place of incident: At the junction of Kuttapitiya on the Colombo-Badulla Road and the Kahawatte Police Station
Date of incident: 26 March 2007
I am writing to express my grave concern regarding the alleged threat, illegal arrest and brief detention of Mr. Premasiri Uduwatte in lieu of his son by policemen of the Kahawatte Police, in particular Sub Inspector (SI) Rodrigo. I am shocked that the victim has been arrested and detained without any valid complaint of what appears to be upon the instigation of a wealthy person.
Accordingly to the information I have received, on 6 March 2007, it was about 7:30pm when Mr. Premasiri Uduwatte was stopped by Sub Inspector (SI) Rodrigo of the Kahawatte Police Station and his two other companions at the junction of Kuttapitiya along the Colombo-Badulla Road. One of the policemen allegedly threatened Mr. Uduwatte by pointing his T-56 machine gun at him and forced him towards the service vehicle they are riding on. It is reported that the policemen were riding on a private vehicle, ‘Pajero’ Jeep, which was said to be driven by Weeraratna alias Mahathun, a wealthy gem merchant.
Before Mr. Uduwatte was taken to the Kahawatte Police Station, I have learned that Mahathun allegedly instigated the policemen to ‘give [the victim] two or three shots’ but the policemen refused. Mr. Uduwatte was produced before Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Muthukuda and started questioning him regarding his son’s involvement in allegedly assaulting Mahathun’s son. OIC Muthukuda also asked Mr Uduwatte of his son’s whereabouts. Had Mr Uduwatte not gave assurance to the policemen that he would produce his son, Buddhika, to police station the following day they would have not allowed him to leave.
I am extremely disappointed by the police’ action in this case. I therefore urge you to ensure that the policemen involved be investigated to answer the allegation against them. They must be imposed with proper disciplinary sanction without delay. For the police to arrest a person without any complaint or charged on behalf of another person is completely unacceptable.
The relevant authorities, in particular the Inspector General of Police, Human Rights Commission and the National Police Commission, where the victim’s complaint have been filed must seriously act on this matter with promptness. They must take appropriate disciplinary and legal action against the policemen involved.
I look forward to your prompt action into this matter.
Yours truly,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
2. Mr. C.R. De Silva
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk
4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
