Dear friends
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding yet another case of police torture in Sri Lanka. Halnetthige Nelsan Perera and Halnetthige Lenith Nuwan Peiris were severely beaten on 13 March 2004 by police officers outside the Pinwatta Cemetery, where Perera had earlier in the day buried his wife.
The AHRC is gravely concerned by these cases of torture. Your urgent action is needed to pressure the Sri Lankan government to take the requisite steps to punish the perpetrators and ensure that such violations do not occur in the future.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
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CASE DETAILS:
Names of victims: Halnetthige Nelsan Perera, aged 44 and Halnetthige Lenith Nuwan Peiris
Names of perpetrators: Mr. Wijeratne and Mr. Ajith from the Panadura Police Station and Mr. Rathnayake and Mr. Kumarageewa from the Pinwatte Police Post
Date of incident: 13 March 2004
Place of incident: outside the Pinwatte Cemetery
Halnetthige Nelsan Perera (Perera) and Halnetthige Lenith Nuwan Peiris (Peiris) were assaulted by Mr. Wijeratne and Mr. Ajith, attached to the traffic branch of the Panadura Police on 13 March 2004 after 8:30 pm.
Perera was returning to the Pinwatte Cemetery to light candles for his wife, whose funeral had been held at 5 pm that day. Perera and his friend Peiris went to a shop 50 meters away from the cemetry to buy the candles. However, since they were not available they reversed the vehicle to the main road from the compound of the said shop to try elsewhere. As they were about to enter the main road, they saw a bowser (tanker) coming from the direction of Colombo, so they moved ahead once again into the said compound.
At that very moment, police officers Mr. Wijeratne and Mr. Ajith, clad in uniform, came towards them, under the influence of alcohol. The two officers rudely asked Perera, “are you trying to kill yourselves?” To which Peiris replied that although they did not see the bowser at first, as soon as they saw it they moved forward to get out of the way. Mr. Wijeratne told Peiris that he was being too smart and then forcibly took the key from the ignition of their vehicle. Then Mr. Ajith pulled Peiris out of the vehicle by the collar of his shirt and hit him on his ear.
At this point Peiris told the officers that since he had not pulled his vehicle beyond the pavement, he had not committed an offence and they should return the key. Perera
showed the officers the graveyard where his wife had only hours before been buried and said that they had just come to pay their respects by lighting some candles, and he pleaded with the officers to let them go.
Instead, the officers started beating Peiris with their fists and legs. Perera then got out of the vehicle and pleaded with the officers not to beat his friend, at which point they started beating Perera also. According to him, they were beaten on their faces, chests and hands.
After some time a police vehicle approached, with seven or eight police officers including the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the Pinwatta Police Post, Mr. Kumarajeewa and Police Constable Mr. Rathnayaka of the Pinwatte Police Post. OIC Mr. Kumarajeewa got out of the vehicle and started assaulting Perera with an iron bar, which was 2-2 ?feet in length and 2 inches in diameter. Peiris was also beaten with the same iron bar.
Then the OIC ordered the other officers to beat the victims further. Perera stated that two of the officers had poles with them and the other five had guns in their possession, all of which were used to assault Perera and Peiris. Perera then started to bleed copiously from his head and collapsed to the floor.
According to Perera, while they were being assaulted a large number of people gathered and witnessed the incident. Several onlookers told the officers that this man’s wife had just died and pleaded with them not to assault the victims. Not only did the officers ignore their pleas, but they even attempted to assault the onlookers in return.
Due to the brutal assault, Peiris’s leg was injured and he too collapsed. Then the officers threw both the victims into the police vehicle and drove off. Perera states that when he regained consciousness, he heard Peiris wailing in severe pain. The officers continued their assault in the vehicle although Perera pleaded with them to stop beating them and to take them to a hospital. He told them that his wife had just died and that he had come to light some candles at her grave and that unless they were taken to a hospital they too would die.
Peiris and Perera were then brought to the Panadura Police station in the vehicle, but they could barely get out of the vehicle and collapsed in the Police station compound. They were admitted to the Panadura Base Hospital by the same officers at around 9:30 pm. They were examined, given emergency treatment and admitted to ward No. 1. Perera was later transferred to ward No. 24 and Peiris to No. 26.
When the victims were at the hospital, a large number of people visited them, and amongst them was Mr. Kumara, a professional photographer and the owner of ‘Kumari Studio’, of Galle Road, Nalluruwa, Panadura, who took several photos of Perera.
Perera was discharged on 15 March 2004, with visible marks of injuries on his chest, back, head, face, hands, legs and other body parts to date. According to him, Peiris was admitted to the National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) for special treatment, ward Nos. 17 and 54, and underwent special surgeries due to the various fractures he suffered from the assault. Peiris was discharged from the hospital on 31 March 2004 and he was issued a Diagnosis Ticket. His report indicates that there is a compound fracture of left lower limb bone (left Tibial shaft) as a result of the assault that he suffered at the hands of the police officers.
Perera stated that his eldest daughter, Halneththige Nadi Kaushalya Perera, had made complaints of the torture to several persons and institutions, namely the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Police Commission (NPC), Inspector General of Police, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Colombo South), Senior Superintendent of Police (Panadura), Mr. Kithsiri Dayananda and the Assistant Superintendent of Police (Panadura), Mr. Dharmasena.
Perera received a letter from the NHRC that an Inquiry had been started in regard to violations of his rights under case No. HRC/1486/04 on 23 March 2004.
ASP Dharmasena and IP Wijekoon recorded statements from Perera and Peiris on March 14. Apparently, OIC Kumarajeewa was transferred with immediate effect from the Pinwatte Police Post.
At no time before or after their brutal torture were the victims charged with any offence, no warrant was produced and no complaint filed. Perera has filed a petition with the Sri Lankan Supreme Court which is currently pending. This is a clear case of arbitrary torture in a brutal manner, violating fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka as well as international law.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter, fax or email to the following authorities expressing your concern at the torture committed by the Sri Lankan police.
- Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo-1, Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 333 703
2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
3. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 669 128 / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
4. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
National 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. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9016
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
Re: Police severely assault two men outside a cemetery
Names of victims: Halnetthige Nelsan Perera, aged 44 and Halnetthige Lenith Nuwan Peiris
Names of perpetrators: Mr. Wijeratne and Mr. Ajith from the Panadura Police Station and Mr. Rathnayake and Mr. Kumarageewa from the Pinwatte Police Post and other officers
Date of incident: 13 March 2004
Place of incident: outside the Pinwatte Cemetery
I am shocked to hear of the brutal assault by the Sri Lankan police on two innocent civilians, Nelsan Perera and Lenith Nuwan Peiris, on 13 March 2004. Two of the officers were allegedly under the influence of alcohol. The victims were beaten with an iron bar, poles and guns. And this was all done without the victims being accused of any offence or complaint and without any arrest warrant. Furthermore, when onlookers attempted to plead with the officers that one victim, Perera, had just buried his wife hours before and to let them go, the officers attempted to beat the onlookers as well.
This kind of police behavior is disturbing in the extreme. The perpetrators must be suspended and punished. It is obvious that systemic reform needs to be undertaken to ensure that the Sri Lankan police force protect the rule of law, not make a mockery of it. I urge the Sri Lankan government to take the necessary steps to prosecute the offenders under the CAT Act, to reform the justice system and to suitably compensate the victims.
Yours sincerely,
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Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
