SRI LANKA: Man killed by police officers in the Paliyagoda Police Station

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about Mr. Chadik Shyaman Wickramarachchi (42), a resident of Rakgahawatte in Biyagama in Gampaha District. He had been extra-judicially killed on 25 February 2017, by officers of the Paliyagoda Police Station. As there has been no proper investigation carried it remains a denial of justice for the victim and his family. We see in this case the extraordinary collapse of the rule of law in the country. The State’s policy of combating crime by killing suspects has encouraged police officers to kill with impunity.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Following is information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) about Mr. Chadik Shyaman Wickramarachchi (42). He was a resident of the Rakgahawatte in Biyagama in Gampaha District who drove vehicles for hire for a living. He was married and the father of a 7 year old son and a one month old daughter.

On the night of 25 February 2017, a group of police officers visited the residence of Chadik’s mother. The officers claimed they wished to take Chadik to the police station to record a statement. However, he was not there. Following this, the officers went to Chadik’s house and took him in a vehicle to the Peliyagoda Police Station.

When the officers reached Chadik’s house, they knocked on the door. The woman in the house told the officers that she was alone and would not open the door. She also questioned who they were. Not being satisfied, the woman said she would call 119. The officers told her to “go ahead”. Then, just as she turned away from the door to pick up the phone, the officers smashed through the back door.

When the officers entered the house, Chadik stood up when the officers asked for him. He inquired who they were and what they wanted. Chadik was told they were from the Peliyagoda Unit. They needed to record a statement from him. The officers then took him away in a vehicle.

After he was brought to the police station, the family members prepared to visit the Peliyagoda Police Station the next morning. A family friend informed them that Chadik was not at the Police Station. But, they were informed through another friend that Chadik had been taken to the Colombo National Hospital.

The family searched for Chadik at the Hospital and eventually recovered his body at the Police Mortuary in Colombo. According to a relative, the shirtless body of Chadik, covered in sand, laying on a guerny was turned over to the family.

After the demise, the police issued a communique stating that the suspect had fallen ill while in police custody, adding that Chadik was taken to the hospital where he passed away. According to the officers, the deceased was arrested following information provided by a suspect who was arrested in connection with several robberies. To his credit, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) ordered an immediate investigation into the death.

Following the investigation, five police officers were arrested in connection with the death of the suspect. The suspect after being arrested was taken to the Peliyagoda Police Station. Relatives of the victim have leveled accusations against the police over his death. A Police Sub-Inspector and four police constables were arrested at Police Headquarters by a ‘Special Police Team.’ Later they were produced before a Colombo magistrate and remanded.

Chadik’s relatives maintain that he was illegally arrested and extra-judicially killed by police officers. Indications suggest this is yet another example of the Sri Lankan police system. It practices extra- judicial killings of suspects, often innocent, in the guise of crime prevention. Numerous victims have been killed in police custody after being arrested.

The Asian Human Rights Commission states that the incident is not the first of its kind. On September 30, 2016, 30 year old Kaviraj Ravichandran died while in custody at the Pussellawa Police Station. A few days later, the Minister of Law and Order stated in parliament that CCTV cameras would be fixed at police stations. But this was never implemented. The country still lives under the practice of extra-judicial killings. A suspect once in the hands of law-enforcing officers continues to be victimized or killed.

The prevention of crime is one of the paramount duties of any civilized state. According to the Constitution, law-enforcement authorities are bound to protect the right to life of its citizens and these rights are enshrined in the Constitution. Sri Lanka, being a country governed under a democratic framework, is bound to support the Judiciary, impose the rule of law and protect the civil liberties of all citizens. An extra-judicial killing of a citizen by police officers has become a dictatorial norm.

Any incident in which a policeman kills a person should be investigated efficiently, and without delay. However, in this instance, the State has not shown any interest in investigating the killing or bringing the responsible officers before the court. For years there has been no major commander taking responsibility for Sri Lankan police activities. It is the decision-making officers that should be held primarily responsible for killings perpetrated by officers under their command.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported numerous cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extrajudicial killings of citizens at the hands of the police. Under international and local laws these are illegal actions yet have been taking place daily at police stations all over the country. It is common knowledge that the Sri Lankan police use torture as an instrument to terrorize innocent people and harass the general public. Now, the police are implementing a policy of doing away with suspected criminals. They arrest and then kill them without their ever being produced in a court of law.

Needless to say, there is a lack of protection for those willing to take up cases against abusive police officers and State authorities. This means that the law continues to be employed as a tool by the authorities to control people. By undermining civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity a long-term toll is placed on victims, their families and society.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has continuously exposed the harassment of witnesses and victims and on some occasions their murders, in order to suppress justice. The AHRC has urged the State of Sri Lanka to adopt a law of witness protection.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into allegations of extra-judicial killings by the police. Prosecution of those proven to be responsible under criminal law is imperative. The officers involved should be subject to an internal investigation for breach of Police Department orders. The AHRC will write a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions in this regard.

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