SRI LANKA: Nivithigala police illegally arrested and tortured a man while in detention

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man named Lindamulage Suneth Rupersinghe Silva was illegally arrested by police officers attached to the Nivithigala Police Station in the district of Rathnapura, illegally detained and subjected to degrading treatment on 25 October 2010. Then he was forced to sign a document supposedly to legalise the arrest which is a common practice in Sri Lankan police stations. The document was prepared by the police and while Suneth was allowed to read part of it none of the contents therein were truthfully recorded from him but rather fabricated by the officers. Further he was threatened that they would involve him in a fabricated charge in order to remand him. He was also threatened with death if he caused any problems. It is a regular phenomenon in Sri Lanka that instead of investigating crimes in a scientifically accepted manner the police arrest innocents who are tortured and manhandled into confessing. The case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the Lindamulage Suneth Rupersinghe Silva (26) of Kiribathgala, Rajaye Wevilla East Section, Della, Nivithigala, he was illegally arrested, detained, tortured and threatened with death and the and filling of fabricated chargers.

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-014-2011

On 24 October 2010 while he was in Horana his elder brother called him and asked his whereabouts and he answered Horana. Some time later he had travelled to Ingiriya when his mother also called him and asked his whereabouts. When he asked the reasons for these queries she told him that one of his friends was waiting to meet him. Suneth returned home around 9.30 pm and his mother revealed that a police officer of Nivithigala Police Station came and left instructions for him to go to the police station.

Next morning at around 10 am he went to the Nivithigala Police Station along with his mother and his father by a three wheeler. There he was directed to the crime branch of the station and he met the Officer-in-Charge (OIC). Suneth asked the reason for being summoned to the police. Instead of answering an officer bearing the identity number 93029 took Suneth’s mobile phone, wallet, Identity Card and his pen. Then without being told the reason he was told to enter the cell in a very degrading manner. When he asked this officer the reason for locking up him the policeman started to abuse him with obscene language.

His relatives brought meals for him but none of them were allowed to visit Suneth.

The next day on 26 October at around noon he was brought out and informed that the bail granted to him before in connection with a criminal case is going to be cancelled. When he asked the reason for that the officer (93029) informed that he needed to sign a letter that he had prepared. Suneth was allowed to read part of the document. In the letter it was reported that Suneth was arrested at the Nivithigala Town by the police officer in the night as he was not able to produce an Identity Card. Suneth refused to sign the document and explained that he came to the police station along with his parents in the morning of 24 October. He was told by the officer who drafted the letter that he would be released after he signed it. If he failed to do so his release would be delayed. Then Suneth signed the letter believing the promise of the officer.

After getting the signature the officer told Suneth that he needs to accept a criminal case which he would be assigned. When Suneth refused to comply the officer told him to be ready for remand.

Then at around 1 pm, he was brought to the OIC of the crime branch of the police station. The OIC asked him if he knew anything about how young men got killed in the eighties. The OIC warned him that he would be killed in a similar manner if he continued to behave as a big man. Later he was informed that he could go home after his father come to the station. Until then he was asked to sit on the bench at the police station. The father arrived shortly after and Suneth was released.

Presently Suneth is in fear of his life and prosecution by the introduction of fabricated charges, of being illegally arrested, detained and tortured by the police officers.

Lindamulage Suneth Rupersinghe Silva demands the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka and protection for his life.

He narrated the manner in which he was tortured and how his rights were violated by the police officers in the video linked here.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of arbitrarily arrest and detentions by the Sri Lankan police which are illegal under international and local law which have taken place at different Police Station in the country over the past few years.

Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right freedom from torture. According to the Article 11 of the constitution ‘No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right to equality for all persons as stated that ‘all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to the equal protection of the law’. Further Article 13 (1) has stated that ‘No person shall be arrested except according to procedure established by law. Any person arrested shall be informed of the reason for his arrest’.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Nevertheless the lack of protection offered to those who are willing to take cases against abusive police officers and the state authorities, means that the law is under-used continues to be employed as a tool by the police to harass people. This not only takes a long-term toll on the victim and his or her family, but on society as a whole, by undermining of civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, arbitrary detention, torturing by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of the state officers and for mis-prosecution. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department. Further, please also request the NPC and the IGP to have a special investigation into the malpractices of the police officers for abusing the state officers’ powers illegally.

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.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER