Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received further information about Benedict Rosery, a 25-year-old three wheeler driver who had been allegedly tortured at the Peradeniya police station, after being implicated in a murder case on 20 May 2007 (For details, see: UA-183-2007). We were informed that the owner of the three-wheeler (Benedict’s employer) was also arrested and implicated in the same murder case by the police because of his assistance to Benedict’s mother. We were also informed that typical of the Sri Lankan police, they rushed to arrest the victims without beforehand collecting evidence or conducting any proper and competent investigation in the murder case.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
According to the latest information we have received, similar to Benedict, Bonniface, another suspect of the said murder case, was also severely tortured by the Peradeniya police officers. He was allegedly hung naked on the ceiling and the police officers brutally beat him with sticks. He has scars on his body due to the brutal torture. He was reportedly taken to a doctor by the police for the medical check-up prior to being produced before the court on May 23, but his medical report is not available to date.
Meanwhile, the Peradeniya police has arrested Don Richard Anura Alwitigala with the same murder charge on June 10 and produced him before the court on the following day. He is the owner of the three-wheeler in which Benedict was working. After Benedict’s arrest, Don Richard accompanied Benedict’s mother to the police station as well as the court and also spent some money to assist Benedict. Benedict’s family alleges that the real suspects of the murder of Suresh are the local drug dealers. Don Richard reportedly spoke boldly to the police about their passive attitude in investigating this matter. His arrest was made soon after this argument with the police. Benedict’s family and local human rights activists allege that he was falsely implicated to the said murder case due to his strong appeal to the police.
Don Richard was remanded by the court at the Bogambara prison in Kandy, where Benedict and Bonniface are currently detained, until 1 July 2007. There is also allegation that he was tortured while in police custody. However, the details of his torture remain unknown.
The AHRC is particularly concerned that the Peradeniya police have failed to conduct a proper and competent investigation into the concerned murder case and rushed to arrest the suspects (the victims). For example, Benedict was immediately arrested by the police even though he voluntarily went to the police station to provide information about Suresh soon after hearing his murder. He was then allegedly tortured by the police to confess the murder and then soon charged with murder. All these things took place while the police have not taken any serious initiation to investigate the crime and collect evidence to identify the murderer. In Sri Lanka, torture is commonly used as ‘the only method’ to investigate the crimes by the police.
Although Benedict’s family lodged a complaint about his torture and alleged false implication into the murder case to the Hotline of the Human Rights Commission on May 22, they have not received any response from the HRC.
All three arrested persons are from Tamil community, an ethnic minority in the country.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and demand an immediate and impartial investigation into the alleged false implication of charges of the victim. Please urge them to take immediate action to unconditionally release the victim if the allegation is true and also demand the punishment against the concerned police officers. Please also demand them to conduct a proper investigation into the concerned murder case in which the three concerned men are implicated by the police.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ________,
SRI LANKA: Police allegedly implicated a man into the false murder charge due to his assistance to the torture victim
Name of victim: Don Richard Anura Alwitigala, residing at 49/16 Daulagala Road, Peradeniya, Kandy district, Sri Lanka (Victim 1’s employer and owner of the three wheeler)
Alleged perpetrators: Officers attached to the Peradeniya police station, Kandy district II, Kandy, Sri Lanka
Date of arrest: 10 June 2007
Place of torture: Peradeniya police station
Currently detained at: Bogambara prison in Kandy
I am appalled to learn that the man named above was arrested and falsely implicated into the murder case by the Peradeniya police due to his assistance to another torture victim. The case is related to the case of Benedict Rosery, a 25-year-old three wheeler driver who had been allegedly tortured by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Peradeniya police station, after being implicated in a murder case on 20 May 2007.
I am informed that the Peradeniya police arrested Mr. Don Richard Anura Alwitigala on 10 June 2007 and produced him before the court on the following day after falsely implicating him into the same murder case. He is the owner of the three-wheeler in which Benedict was working. After Benedict’s arrest, Don Richard accompanied Benedict’s mother to the police station as well as the court and also spent some money to assist Benedict. Don Richard’s arrest was made soon after he boldly spoke to police about their passive attitude to inquire about the allegation that local drug dealers are the real suspects of the murder of Suresh. I am strongly convinced that the only reason of his arrest is due to his strong support to Benedict’s family. There is further allegation that the Peradeniya police was bribed by the concerned drug dealers to allow them to escape punishment.
I want to inform you that Mr. Don Richard Anura Alwitigala was allegedly tortured while in police custody. In fact, Benedict and Bonniface, two suspects arrested in relation to the concerned murder case prior to the victim’s arrest, had also been brutally tortured by the Peradeniya police who forced them to confess the crime. Bonniface was allegedly hung naked on the ceiling and the police officers brutally beat him with sticks. The victim and these two persons are currently detained at the Bogambara prison in Kandy.
I am deeply concerned that the Peradeniya police have failed to conduct a proper and competent investigation into the concerned murder case and rushed to arrest the three men. For example, Benedict was immediately arrested by the police even though he voluntarily went to the police station to provide information about Suresh soon after hearing his murder. The police then casually tortured him to extract the confession and then charged him with murder. I note with grave concern that the police used torture as ‘the only method’ of the investigation in this case without taking any serious initiation to collect sufficient evidence to identify the murderer.
I have an opinion that the three men are victimized by the police who want to ‘dispose’ the murder case quickly, as they all belong to Tamil community, an ethnic minority in the country.
In light of the above information, I strongly demand an immediate and impartial investigation into the alleged false implication of the murder charge upon the victim. I request you to take immediate intervention to release the victim unconditionally if the allegation is true. The officers responsible for the alleged fabrication of the charge should be punished by the law. I also demand that the concerned police officers are prosecuted under the CAT Act No. 22 of 1994. Please also ensure that a proper and competent investigation is conducted into the concerned murder case so that the real murderer can be arrested. I also request you to inquire about the allegation of corruption and punish those responsible if it is proven true. Lastly, I recommend the Government of Sri Lanka to provide full training to the police forces to improve their skills in competent and proper investigation. Torture should never be allowed in the process of the police investigation in the country.
Yours truly,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS 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. Mr. Neville Piyadigama
Chairperson
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. Officer-in-Charge
Peradeniya Police Station
Kandy district II
Kandy
SRI LANKA
Tel/fax: +94 81 2388033
6. 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 (ua@ahrchk.org)
