SRI LANKA: Girl student of Ambakotte Tamil Vidayalaya in Kandy was severely beaten by the principle and forced to return to school against her will 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Ms. Chandramohan Denusha is a student at Ambakotte Tamil Vidyalaya. Twelve year old Denusha was severely beaten by the principal of her school and when she refused to return she was forcefully taken by two of the teachers. Corporal punishment has been banned in schools, remand centres and prisons in Sri Lanka and this act of brutality is a gross violation of this young girls rights.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Ms. Chandramohan Denusha of No: 01/B, Ambakotte, Kengalle in the Kandy District is a student at Ambakotte Tamil Vidyalaya. She is twelve years old and studying in grade 8 of the school. Denusha’s father has been in remand prison for the last six years without trial; she has a younger sister and her mother, M Dayamani, has no regular income.

Ambakotte Tamil Vidyalaya is a mixed school and there are 469 children. It offers classes up to General Certificate of Examination, Ordinary Level and employs 29 teachers.

According to Denusha the teachers, especially Mr. Sudakaran, the discipline master who is also the vice principal, punishes the children by beating them brutally. He does this is in blatant violation of Sri Lankan law which prohibiting corporal punishment in schools, remand centres and prisons. The principal of the school, Mr. S Rajendran also beats the children mercilessly almost every day. One of the students, S Kavitha, a student of Grade 8 who was severely beaten in the first week of January 2012 left the school because of the continuous beatings.

In January 2012, Denusha was severely beaten by the principle and as a result her left arm became swollen. When her mother questioned the principal he gave her oil balm, ‘Wintogeno’ as a treatment to apply. When Denusha refused to go to school the principal sent two masters to their house and they forcefully took her. If they did not receive the tacit approval of Denusha’s mother this is tantamount to kidnapping and it is believed that they did this in order to avoid any possible legal problems.

Denusha who is a very intelligent student, scored 132 at the year 5 scholarship exam and she fears that if she complains about the brutality of her teachers she will have to leave the school like Kavitha because the principal and the teachers would take revenge. This in itself is a common occurrence is Sri Lankan schools where the principals and teachers rule almost without control.

Her mother M Dayamani is even scared to go to the police as the police officers of Theldeniya have taken revenge from her husband by remanding him and delaying his trial which is a violation of his rights. Therefore she appeals for justice for her daughter.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of torturing innocent by the Sri Lankan police which are illegal under international and local law which have taken place at different state’s agencies including Schools and Police Stations in the country over the past few years.

The State of Sri Lanka sign and ratified the CAT on 3 January 1994. Following state obligations Sri Lanka adopted Act number 22 of 1994 the law adopted by the Sri Lankan parliament making torture a crime that can be punishable for minimum seven years and not less than ten years on being proven guilty. The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is suppose to file indictments in the case where credible evidence were found on torturing people by state officers.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegation of torture by the perpetrator, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of a state. The officer involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the Educational Department.

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on this regard.

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