SRI LANKA: Mirihana Special Investigation Unit allegedly tortures a man after arbitrary arrest

Dear friends,

The  Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mirihana Special Investigation Unit arbitrarily arrested and detained a man on 15 January 2008 in Sri Lanka. On the basis of a report from a third party, the police allegedly assaulted him to extract his confession, threatening him not to report the torture otherwise, they would send him to prison on a fabricated charge.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the information received from Shiraz Buhran)

On 15 January 2008, at about 4pm, Shiraz Buhran and his assistant returned to his workshop “R. Tec” at the Rukmale Vijeyapura junction at Pannipitiya, after attending to a purchase order. 

According to the information received, Shiraz Buhran observed that a Tata Signal Cab was parked outside his workshop. He then saw a police officer in the cab and heard him calling him. The police officer asked Shiraz Buhran where he had been. The police officer then called Shiraz Buhran’s assistant and wrote down his name and address. Then he told the assistant to take Shiraz Buhran’s motorcycle home as he was taking Shiraz Buhran to the Mirihana police station because the Officer in Charge (OIC) requested to see him.

There were six officers in the cab and he recognised Police Constable Nandasena, who was carrying a T56, a Sub Inspector, a driver and three others. Shiraz Buhran was then taken to the Mirihana Special Crimes Branch and told to stand in the corner of the room.

Shiraz Buhran was then told that he was apprehended as a suspect of a  jewellery theft that had taken place in the house of his cousin, Dr. Sampath Pradeep Kumara Athukorala, who lived next door to Shiraz Buhran. According to Shiraz Buhran, the two families were angry with each other and his cousin had purposely implicated him to avenge him.  

An officer at the police station asked the officer who brought him in “is this the fellow?”. Then the officer came near him and asked “where are the goods” (meaning the stolen goods). The officer then suddenly slapped Shiraz Buhran on his cheek and with his fist hit him on his stomach several times. Then five officers who were there crowded around Shiraz Buhran and began to hit him with their hands and feet for about 15 minutes, shouting at him “to give the goods”. Among those who assaulted him, Shiraz Buhran recognised the Sub Inspector who brought him to the station. Shiraz Buhran was then hand cuffed and was told to sit on a box.  

At about 7pm Shiraz Buhran heard the voice of his mother and saw his mother talking to a Sub Inspector. He immediately went up to her and told her that he had been assaulted by the police. The officer then scolded him and chased him away telling him to return to his place on the box. Thereafter he was visited by his wife and another relative. His work assistant also came to see him. He informed them all that he had been assaulted by the police. He was handcuffed to an iron chair for the whole night. At 8am on January 16, police constable Nandasena came and threatened him “at least now tell the truth” and slapped him many times on his cheeks. 

At about 9:30am Shiraz Buhran’s mother came and met the OIC with Shiraz Buhran. The OIC then threatened his mother that if she talked or reported the incident to human rights activists, he would send her son to prison for 14 days. 

Thereafter he was fingerprinted. At about 4:30pm a statement was recorded and he was released. However, he was not allowed to see what was written nor the statement that he had recorded.

When he was leaving the police station, the OIC threatened him that he had heard that his mother had consulted human rights activists and if he tried to continue such steps they would fabricate a charge and send him to prison. 

Shiraz Buhran alleged that he was falsely implicated in the theft and was assaulted and harassed by the officers of the Mirihana Special Investigation Unit on the instigation of his cousin Dr. Sampath Pradeep Kumara Athukorala as an act of revenge. He then said that his cousin, a doctor, is married to a doctor who is the daughter of the Assistant Superintendent of Police Kalutara. He then argued that the offence should have been investigated by the Homagama police under whose jurisdiction it lies but was instead investigated by the Mirihana Special Investigation Unit.

On January 19, Shiraz Buhran reported this incident by a written complaint dated 19 January 2008 to the Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and National Police Commission, Inspector General of Police and Deputy Inspector General of Police (Legal).

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Torture and ill treatment by the police are widespread in Sri Lanka. In many torture cases the AHRC has already reported, the police arbitrarily arrested a person and forced him or her to sign a blank statement or to make statement and obtained a signature by force without reading the contents. The police later on use the statement in order to fabricate charges against the torture victims. (UA-321-2007, UA-319-2007, UA-303-2007, UA-288-2007, UA-284-2007, UA-283-2007, UA-280-2007, UA-261-2007).

While a case is before a court, the victims often receive threats from the perpetrators (UP-161-2007). Due to court delays, it often takes several years for the victims to get redress (UP-102-2007).

Likewise, imposing false charges after torturing a person is a common method that the police have used for several years in Sri Lanka. It is a serious concern that the victims of torture are being tried and convicted based on evidence extracted under torture.

There is no mechanism to monitor the police’s interrogation, for whether the police are biased or not, when the police handle a case reported. Police are often in favour of one party and they assault another party to confess, following fabricated charges (AHRC-UAC-020-2008). The court, however, either does not seriously take up the allegation nor order an investigation. Lots of violations have also been reported during the criminal investigations.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the relevant authorities to investigate into this alleged torture of Shiraz Buhran after arbitrary arrest and detention by the Mirihana Special Investigation Unit.

The AHRC is writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for an intervention in this matter

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