Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that K.A. Ganga Kalpani, gave birth prematurely after being tortured by the Embilipitiya police, resulting in her child being stillborn.
Ganga Kalpani, who is from Galwanguwa, was tortured along with her husband, Walakadage Gamini Senadeera. At that time she was five months pregnant.
Kalpani was admitted to the Embilipitiya Hospital on 30 April 2004 and according to the doctors at that hospital she delivered prematurely due to the torture inflicted on her some four days earlier. Kalpani and her stillborn baby were sent to Ratnapura General Hospital for further investigations.
Prior to this incident, on April 10 following an act of assault by a police officer, a man died at the Maharagama Police Station (See further: UA-64-2005). Not long before that, a group of police officers attacked a cashier when he demanded payment. Similar stories have been reported constantly which are available in the AHRC website (www.ahrchk.net/ua). Despite all these incidents, nothing has been done by the Sri Lankan authorities to correct the situation. The most recent gruesome incident of the pregnant woman giving birth to a stillborn baby due to the police torture is an example of the extremely callous behavior of the Sri Lankan police.
As a medical report revealed that the death of the child was due to the police assault, the responsible police officers must be charged not only with torture but also with murder. The AHRC strongly urges that an inquiry in this case should be taken from the hands of the local police and handed over to a special unit for a complete and impartial investigation. We warn that any attempt to hush up the inquiry would further aggravate the gross abuse of human rights that has already taken place in the country.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ________,
Re: SRI LANKA: A woman's baby is stillborn due to police torture
I have read with horror the report of the torture of a pregnant woman which lead to her giving birth prematurely to a stillborn child.
K.A. Ganga Kalpani was tortured along with her husband, Walakadage Gamini Senadeera, by officers of the Embilipitiya Police Station. At the time she was tortured she was five months pregnant. This callous act by The Embilipitiya Police is barbaric and action must be taken to prosecute the responsible officers with torture and murder charges.
I urge you to order an inquiry by a Special Investigation Unit so that the matter is taken out of the hands of the local police officers who may try to hush up the incident. It is unfortunately common knowledge that records and statements taken by the police often get lost. It would be a simple matter for the local officers to follow this well known strategy.
Apart from the physical and psychological pain inflicted by their torture, Ganga Kalpani and her husband have suffered a great loss. It is up to the police authorities to ensure that the inquiry is sincere, speedy, that the officers concerned are punished and compensation is paid to the victims.
Yours faithfully,
__________
SEND A LETTER TO:
1. 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.net2. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
3. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairperson
National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 669 528
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148E-mail:
polcom@sltnet.lk 4. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
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: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Program
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
