Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the illegal arrest and torture of 24 year-old Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva by the Paiyagala Police. Silva was standing outside his house when the police suddenly appeared. He went inside the house but the police forced themselves inside, dragged him out and beat him, before they took him away and put him in a cell in the Paiyagala Police station.
AHRC asks for your urgent action to intervene in this serious matter of police violence of which innocent people are victims. AHRC demands that Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva is given the required medical attention and that the National Human Rights Commission takes all possible steps appropriate in order to safeguard his rights without any further delay. Further, AHRC urges the Sri Lankan government to take firm action to curb this kind of police brutality and that the officers responsible for such crimes are duly prosecuted and punished.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:
Name of the victim: Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva, Age 24, Carpenter
Address of the victim: 386/A, Katukurudugahalanda, Paiyagal
Alleged perpetrator: 1) OIC, Paiyagala Police Station
2) Sub Inspector, Paiyagala Police Station
3) Four other police officers attached to Paiyagala Police Station
Date of incident: 20 July 2004
Place of Incident: Paiyagal
Case details
On 20 July 2004 Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva and his brother were on their way home from the village shop. When they reached the house, Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva waited outside by the roadside in front of the house in order to finish his cigarette before entering the house. As he stood there, a jeep of the Paiyagala Police stopped and police officers called him in a threatening voice to come but instead Silva went inside the house. The police officers then went after him, entered the house and dragged him out while beating him. They took him out to the garden, where the Officer in Charge (OIC) hit and kicked him. The OIC kicked his genitals and he fell to the ground screaming in pain. The others made him stand up and started to hit him mercilessly using wooden sticks. After beating him for about five, six minutes, he was dragged to the jeep by all the police officers and he was taken to the Paiyagala Police station and put into a cell.
The following afternoon, on 21 July 2004, at about 3:30 pm Silva was brought before the Kalutara Magistrate with false charges of possessing cannabis (marijuana). The lawyer who appeared on his behalf informed the Magistrate that the Paiyagala Police had tortured his client. The Magistrate recorded the statement from Silva and documented the wounds and contusions. The Magistrate remanded Silva and gave orders to the prison officers that he should be given the necessary medical treatment and that a JMO report on his health condition should be submitted.
At present Silva remains in Kalutara Remand Prison. The incident has been reported to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the HRC has informed that they will take appropriate steps to safeguard his rights.
AHRC urges the authorities to take immediate steps to stop this kind of police brutality. We urgently call for disciplinary or legal action that until now has not been taken against the officers of the Paiyagala Police. The Sri Lankan government must take firm actions to ensure that torture is not committed by the police for any reasons, and that the officers responsible for such crimes are duly prosecuted and punished.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or email to the relevant authorities expressing your concern regarding this matter.
1. Mr. Mahindra Rajapakse
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk
2. 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 2 669 528
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
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: SRI LANKA: Illegal Arrest, Torture and False charges
Name of the victim: Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva, Age 24, Carpenter
Address of the victim: 386/A, Katukurudugahalanda, Paiyagal
Alleged perpetrator: 1) OIC, Paiyagala Police Station
2) Sub Inspector, Paiyagala Police Station
3) Four other police officers attached to Paiyagala Police Station
Date of incident: 20 July 2004
Place of Incident: Paiyagal
I am writing about the illegal arrest and torture of 24 year-old Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva by the Paiyagala Police. The arrest took place on 20 July 2004 when the police forcibly enterred the house of the young man, dragged him out, beat him, and took him away to the Paiyagala Police station where they put him in a cell.
I ask you for a speedy interrogation into this serious matter of police violence. I demand that Halneththi Susil Indrajith Silva is given the medical attention he requires and that the NHRC takes all possible steps appropriate in order to safeguard his rights without any further delay.
I urge the Sri Lankan government to act firmly and decisively to curb the serious kind of police brutality that frequently occurs in the country. I also urge that officers responsible for such crimes are duly prosecuted and punished.
Thank you.
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Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
