SRI LANKA: Key witness of a fundamental rights violation case is killed by the Wadduwa Police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a key witness in a fundamental rights case filed against the Office-in-Charge of the Wadduwa Police Station was illegally arrested and was later killed while in the custody of that station. The son of the deceased witnessed his father lying on the floor of the cell and bleeding profusely from injuries caused by the severe torture he had endured. Despite repeated requests for water by the deceased the officers on duty refused to comply. However, the police then stated that they arrested the deceased on suspicion of possession of two cannabis cigars and later found him dead inside the police cell. However, police headquarters later announced the transfer of the OIC, sergeant and two other police constables of the Wadduwa station to other areas. The fact that no proper investigation has been carried out is a denial of justice to the victim and his family. Deaths in police custody, either in the stations or during transportation of the suspect is an all too common occurrence in Sri Lanka and is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to the information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received Mr. Chandrasiri Dasanayaka of Thalpitiya, Wadduwa in the Kalutara District was illegally arrested by the police officers attached to the Wadduwa Police Station and later extrajudicially killed inside the station on 15 April 2012. Chandrasiri was a key witness in a case filed against the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Wadduwa Police Station where the petitioner, the owner of a hotel in the same area, states that his fundamental rights were violated by the OIC and other police officers.

According to Thushara Sampath (20), the eldest son of the deceased, Mr. Chandrasiri, a father of 3 children left home at 4.45 a.m. on that day to proceed to his place of business Thalpitiya in Wadduwa. Chandrasiri was a fish trader by profession.

Later Sampath learned from his friend that his father had been arrested by a team of police officers at around 5 a.m. at the Thalpitiya Junction and brought to the Wadduwa Police Station. Immediately upon hearing the news Sampath went to the police station where he found his father lying on the floor of a cell.

When he approached the bars of the cell, his father was able to recognise him and Sampath could see that he was in great pain. He further observed that his father was bleeding from the injuries on his face and pleaded with the police officers on duty to provide some water for his father. However, the officers ignored his request. Sampath then rushed to home and informed his mother and took her to the police station. On their arrival, a police officer told them that Mr. Chandrasiri had been admitted to the Panadura Base Hospital.

They went to the base hospital and learned from the hospital staff that the officers had handed over the body to the mortuary indicating that he was pronounced dead on arrival. Sampath saw that there were even ants were on the injuries of the body at that time. The presence of the ants indicates that Mr. Chandrasiri had been dead for some time before the officers took his body to the hospital. It is not possible that any form of medical attention had been provided to the victim before he died of the brutal torture.

Sampath states that his father was illegally arrested and brutally assaulted and that the police officers callously and cruelly let him die alone in the cell without any medical treatments.

The police spokesman, Superintendent of Police, Ajith Rohana stated, “He had fainted in the Wadduwa police cell and was thereafter admitted to the Panadura hospital and died upon admission,” It was also announced in the media that the deceased was arrested on suspicion that he was in possession of two cannabis cigars, brought to the police station and detained in the police cell where he was later found dead. This is obviously a contradiction to SP Rohona’s earlier statement.

Sampath states that his father left home at 4.45 a.m. to start his professional business at his work place as usual and never possessed or used cannabis or any other illegal substance. He states that the police officers illegally arrested him at 5 am and severely tortured him and that he later succumbed to his injuries without ever receiving any medical treatment. He further states that the OIC and other police officers were angry with his father as he was the key witness of a court case filed by a hotel owner in the same area, on the basis that his fundamental rights had been violated by the OIC of Wadduwa Police Station. Sampath states that killing of his father was an act of revenge by the very same responsible police officers.

Later the Panadura Acting Magistrate visited the Wadduwa Police, inspected the police cell and held the Magisterial Inquiry. She recorded the evidence of the victim’s eldest son Sampath.

Yesterday, (17 April) police headquarters announced the immediate transfers of the OIC of the Wadduwa Police to the Mount Lavinia Police Station along with a sergeant and two police constables. Upon learning of the transfers, Sampath stated vehemently that transfers are not suitable punishment for the heinous crime of torture and extrajudicial killing.

Sampath, and the other children and relatives of the deceased demand an impartial inquiry into the death of their father, Mr. Chandrasiri. The perpetrators must be brought before the law, charged and prosecuted for the illegal arrest, brutal torture and extrajudicial killing of an innocent man.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture and extra judicial killings cases of citizens at the hands of the police which is illegal under international and local law and which have taken place at different police stations in the country over the past few years. The Asian Human Rights Commission has observed that the Sri Lankan police have used torture as an instrument to terrorize innocent persons and harass the public. Further, the country’s police are implementing a policy of eliminating criminals by killing them after arresting them without producing them to the court of law.

The Constitution of Sri Lanka has guaranteed the right freedom from torture. According to Article 11 of the Constitution ‘No person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment’. Further, Article 13(4) “No person shall be punished with death or imprisonment except by order of a competent court, made in accordance with procedure established by law. The arrest, holding in custody, detention or other deprivation of personal liberty of a person, pending investigation or trial, shall not constitute punishment.” Further article 13 (5) guarantees the right of presumption of innocence until being proven guilty.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka has signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). 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 the undermining of civilian respect for the law and encouraging impunity.

Furthermore, the Asian Human Rights Commission has continuously exposed the way the witness and the victims are getting harassed and on some occasions even killed to suppress the justice. Furthermore we have urged the State of Sri Lanka to adopt a law for the protection of witness protection.

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 extra judicial killings by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the department orders as issued by the police department.

The AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions on this regard.
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