SRI LANKA: Illegal arrest, detention and torture of a man by the Morantuduwa Police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you of the alleged illegal arrest, detention and brutal torture of a man by the Officer-in-Charge and other police personnel at the Morantuduwa Police Post in Wadduwa, Sri Lanka.

Athurugiriyage Jeevananda, a married father of one, was arbitrarily detained by the Morantuduwa police who suspected him of cattle theft. However, instead of properly investigating the matter, as they should have done, the police brutally tortured the victim by hanging him from a pole and severely beating him. When the victim continued to maintain that he was not involved in the cattle theft, the police carried on with the beating regardless. After several days of detention, in which time the victim had to receive medical attention for his injuries, he was presented before the Panadura courts on charges that carried no evidence.  The victim was immediately granted bail and has since had to receive further medical treatment for his injuries, which has included a three day stay in hospital. He has lodged a complaint with the Senior Superintendent of Police at Panadura, but to date, no action has been taken. His family also informed the National Human Rights Commission, but again, nothing has come of this.

In light of this we ask for your assistance. Please write to the Inspector General of Police asking for his immediate intervention in this case. A thorough and impartial investigation must be conducted into all allegations made by the victim. If it is found that the police did arbitrarily arrest and detain the victim, and inflict torture upon him, they must be charged under the Convention Against Torture Act of Sri Lanka (CAT Act No. 22 of 1994), and brought before a court of law. Such action is essential in demonstrating to all police personnel in Sri Lanka that custodial torture will not and must not be accepted. The investigation must also look into the seemingly fabricated charges laid against the victim. Full protection must be provided to the victim and his family while investigations and the court trial are being conducted. Compensation must also be provided to the victim, both for his medical costs and for the physiological torment he has endured.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of victim: Athurugiriyage Jeevananda, 23, married and a father of one; three wheel cab driver; resident of Panapitiya, Waskaduwa.
Perpetrators: The Officer-in-Charge and other policemen attached to the Morantuduwa police post (Wadduwa).
Date of incident: 2 July 2005

Case Details:

On 2 July 2005, five policemen from the Morantuduwa police, including the Officer-in-Charge (OIC), Kumarajeeva, visited the victim’s house and inquired from his wife of the victim’s whereabouts. At the time he was not at home, so his wife phoned him and told him to come home as the police were looking for him. The victim returned home, at which time the police had already left.

Together with his wife, the victim then went to a nearby junction where he had seen a police jeep parked. When the victim arrived at the junction, a person nearby pointed in his direction and told the police, “This is the person called Kumara.” OIC Kumarajeeva called the victim, took his mobile phone and said ‘let us go to the police station’. He then forced the victim into the police vehicle and took him to the station.

At the station, the victim was taken to the OIC’s room and was told that he had been brought to the station in connection with a cattle theft. He was told to confess his involvement immediately. When he denied any involvement, the OIC slapped him hard on the face. A police officer using a pole then struck the victim in the stomach and told another policeman to put the victim in a cell. Accordingly the victim was locked up.

Around 12.30 a.m. the victim was visited by the OIC and three others who removed him from the cell and took him to their private quarters. They demanded that the victim remove his shirt. They then tied his hands with the shirt and handcuffed him. He was told to sit on the ground and put his hands on his legs. A pole was locked between his elbows and knees and he was lifted on the pole, which was hung across two tables. (This torture method is commonly known in police circles as the ‘dharma chakraya’). A policeman then began to assault him on the soles of his feet. This continued for about 2 hours.  Two policemen swung on the pole on which the victim hung – and though the victim screamed in pain they continued torturing him. As a result the victim says he suffered severe back pain.

After he was tortured he was once again locked up in the police cell. The next day he was deprived of food and drink. On the third day of his detention his two brothers visited him when the OIC had commented “your brother is an ace cattle thief. So are your brothers getting together and stealing cattle?” One brother denied any involvement and protested at the injustice meted out to the victim, but the OIC threatened to lock him up too. Then the OIC brought three persons called Siril, Sunil and Vajira Fonseka to meet the victim. Sunil said that he had seen something akin to cow dung on the victim’s shirt but when the OIC asked him whether he was sure of seeing cow dung on the victim’s shirt, Sunil replied that he was now unsure whether what he saw was cow dung or mud.

That day around 5.30pm the police informed the victim that he would not be released on bail. Later his relatives informed the Human Rights Commission about the victim’s illegal arrest and torture at the hands of the Morantuduwa police. Again his brother had attempted to see him but the OIC prevented him boasting, “I hear you have gone to the HRC to complain against me. I have about seven cases against me, but I am not afraid.”

Then around 10 p.m. that day, the victim was taken to the Gonaduwa government hospital. On the way, the OIC threatened him to remember that he will be brought back to the same police station. Therefore if he told the doctor he had been assaulted by the police, he would get worse treatment than the previous day. The victim was presented to the doctor as a drug addict but the doctor said that drug addicts did not have his build. When the doctor queried whether he had been hurt, he remained silent and did not dare inform on the police.

The next day at around 2am the victim was taken to the Wadduwa police and from there produced before the Panadura courts where he discovered that he had been falsely charged with four cases. However, he was released on bail and was immediately admitted to the Nagoda hospital. He received treatment as an in-patient for three days. Thereafter he also complained about his torture to the Senior Superintendent of Police at Panadura.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Inspector General of Police and other relevant authorities voicing your serious concern regarding this case.

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