Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that on 9 May 2014 Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, a resident of No.164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw, Puttalam District, was illegally arrested and tortured by police officers attached to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters. He was detained in a room inside the bachelor quarters of the police station, hung by a rope from the ceiling and beaten with wooden poles. His private parts were smeared with chilli and pepper. Police officers urinated into his mouth and such torture continued for 7 days until he was finally produced before the Magistrate on fabricated charges of theft and released on bail on 16 May 2014. The victim has suffered considerable injuries and the nerves of both arms have been damaged from being hung from the ceiling and tortured. Sanjeewa is still under treatment at North Colombo Teaching Hospital. This case illustrates the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.
CASE NARRATIVE:
According to information that Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received, Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, is married and earns his living by repairing bicycles. He is a resident of No. 164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw, Puttalam District. Sanjeewa’s hometown is Ampara. His parents reside at No. D/31, Piyangala, Rajagalathenna, in Ampara. On 8 May 2014, the day before his arrest, he was visiting his father, who had taken ill. Sanjeewa’s younger brother was also with his father at the time.
On 9 May 2014, around six persons forcibly entered Sanjeewa’s father’s home, at around 5 a.m., woke him up, and assaulted him inside the house and arrested Sanjeewa and his younger brother. Alarmed at the events, Sanjeewa’s father demanded to know the reasons for the assault and the arrest of his two sons. Following repeated questions from Sanjeewa’s father, one of the persons identified himself as Police Sergeant Basnayake and stated that they are all police officers attached to the Unresolved Crimes Unit of the Crime Branch of the Chilaw Police Headquarters but gave no reasons for the arrest.
Following the assault, Seargent Basnayaka demanded Sanjeewa hand over any money in his possession. When Sanjeewa said that he does not have any money with him, Seargent Basnayake searched his bags for money and the other officers started to assault Sanjeewa again, punching and kicking him. Then they dragged him into the police vehicle parked outside the house. According to reports, officers kicked him and threw him into the back of the vehicle. Sanjeewa continued to be assaulted while the police jeep was in motion. Sanjeewa was first taken to the Bakki Ela Police Station and then to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters, where he was taken to a room inside the bachelor’s quarters, situated at the back of the police compound.
Seargent Basnayaka then brought photographs of two persons and asked Saneewa to indentify them as himself and his younger brother, which he vehemently refused. Angered by Sanjeewa’s refusal, Seargent Basnayake yelled abusive language at Sanjeewa and threatened that dire consequences and that Sanjeewa “better pray to God”. Then, the Seargent left the room.
After sometime, Seargent Basnayake returned with other officers and ordered Sanjeewa to remove all his clothes. Sanjeewa noticed that the police officers were carrying long poles in their hands and he recalls being in fear of being tortured. He feared the worst. At the insistence of the police officers, Sanjeewa removed all his clothes, following which Seargent Basnayake started to beat Sanjeewa’s buttocks and legs with the long wooden poles and Sanjeewa fell to the ground. Seargent Basnayake ordered him to stand up. When he stood up another officer made him stand on a chair. After he got up on the chair, an officer tied his hands behind his back with a rope and ordered him to look up and raise his hands while another officer tied his hands to a rope hanging from an overhead beam. After his hands were tied in this manner, an officer kicked the chair, and Sanjeewa was left hanging.
Immediately, Seargent Basnayaka started to assault him again, forcing Sanjeewa to admit that he had burgled a shop in Chilaw. Sanjeewa repeatedly denied and refused to admit to the theft and cried out that he had no knowledge of any such incident. Sanjeewa was by now in terrible and excruciating pain and he had cried out, screamed, and begged the officers to stop beating him. Sanjeewa recalls that he noticed Seargent Basnayake and other officers being totally intoxicated. After a considerable length of time, Sanjeewa was lowered to the ground and left there. He had pleaded for water. The officer gave him water mixed with soap which he couldn’t drink.
Sanjeewa later saw that another officer had entered the room with hot green chili (Kochchi) and some ground powder, which Sanjeewa recognized as ground pepper. The officers ground the pepper and the green chillies together, following which Seargent Basnayake rubbed the mixture on Sanjeewa’s genitals and other areas of the body. Sanjeewa started to scream in agony from the enormous pain he was suffering and pleaded with the officers to release him but he was left lying on the ground. He was not able to stand up, and both his hands were numb from pain. Sanjeewa again pleaded with the officers to give him some water. Seargent Basnayake then walked over to Sanjeewa, opened his trouser zipper and urinated in his mouth.
It did not stop there; Seargent Basnayake continued to beat Sanjeewa’s feet with a wooden pole and continued to force him to admit to burgling a shop in Chilaw. Sanjeewa still refused to admit to any such offence and pleaded his innocence.
Sanjeewa was taken to another room in the bachelor quarters where he was provided with 4 bottles of water and was not given any food during the first day. Sanjeewa was detained in this room from 9th May to 12 May 2014. He was brutally beaten here from time to time by officers during his detention.
As a result of the severe torture, the beatings, and the hanging from the beam, Sanjeewa’s condition became critical. He was unable to stand up by himself. His legs and arms were swollen. Both his arms became numb and he lost movement in them. Police officers later obtained the services of an Ayurvedic Physician (doctors who administer indigenous medicines), who gave Sanjeewa some treatment. The Physician applied several ointments and treated Sanjeewa with some other medicines, tied to his hands and legs with band-aids and plasters.
On 12 May 2014, Sanjeewa’s wife was allowed to visit him at the police station. She observed that Sanjeewa was made to sit on a chair, inside the police station. And, she also learnt there that they had tied some medicines to his hands and legs and noticed that his body was being deliberately covered with a long-sleeved shirt.
On 13 May, Sanjeewa discovered that police officers had obtained photographs of Sanjeewa, his brother, and another detainee, Wathuthantreelage Presly Fernando, who were also detained at the police station, sent them for identification and verification to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and received negative reports on all three detainees. Once this report was released, the police officers started to discuss amongst themselves and Sanjeewa observed that Seargent Basnayake refused to release Sanjeewa and Presely, since they were in poor health as a result of the torture, which may result in Seargent Basnayake losing his job. Sanjeewa overheard Sergeant Basnayake saying that the detainees cannot be released at this stage and the Seargent informed his senior officers that they have to file fabricated charges for both the detainees and should request the Magistrate to remand them.
Sometime later, Seargent Basnayaka warned Sanjeewa not to utter a single word on what took place at the police station to the Magistrate when produced in court. He also threatened Sanjeewa not to reveal any information on the torture after he was released. Seargeant Basnayake also told Sanjeewa that they had already arranged two lawyers to appear on their behalf in court. Sanjeewa was advised not to be concerned about anything else and that the police and the lawyers will handle the court case.
Sanjeewa and Presly were produced before the Magistrate’s Court and released on bail. Two lawyers appeared for Sanjeewa and Presly without their instructions. Sanjeewa later learnt that his brother was released without even being produced in court. According to Sanjeewa, the Chilaw police have filed a case with the reference B/ 892/2014 accusing Sanjeewa and Presly of theft.
Following his release, Seargent Basnayaka approached Sanjeewa and told him that he will be provided with medical treatment free of charge and gave him his mobile number to call him if needed. After Sanjeewa returned home, the Ayurvedic Physician visited him several times and provided him some medications. After several days of treatment, the Physician stopped his visits, which had been paid by Seargent Basnayake, including the three-wheeler the Physician travelled in. Sanjeewa had then called Seargent Basnayake and told him that he was still in pain and in need of further treatment, to which Seargent Basnayaka asked Sanjeewa to send his wife to the Seargent and the Sergeant would send her back with money the next morning. Fearing more harassment by Seargent Basnayake, Sanjeewa refrained from calling him again.
The following day, Sanjeewa lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission. The other detainee, Presly, also lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission the same day. Sanjeewa later admitted himself to the Chilaw Base Hospital, but was suddenly discharged the next day though he needed further treatment. Sanjeewa believes that he was discharged due to undue influence of the police officers responsible for torturing him.
As his medical condition failed to improve, Sanjeewa again admitted himself at the Chilaw Base Hospital and requested that he be treated. The doctors this time conducted further medical examinations, which revealed that Sanjeewa had suffered critical damage to the nerves on his hands as a result of the torture and as a result of being hung by a rope from a beam. Sanjeewa was later transferred to the North Colombo Teaching Hospital for further examination and treatment. Before he was transferred to the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, several police officers attached to the Crime Branch of the Headquarters Police Station of Chilaw warned him not to continue getting treatment at that hospital. However, despite threats from the police officers, the hospital authorities of the Chilaw Base Hospital were able to transfer Sanjeewa in an ambulance. Sanjeewa is currently receiving treatment at the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, in ward 30, bed no. 5.
Sanjeewa and his family members are seeking justice and the protection of his rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting immediate investigation into the allegations of illegal arrest, detention of Sanjeewa for a week and torture by the officers attached to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters. Please request for the prosecution of the police officers involved in the torture and for abusing the power conferred on them. The officers involved must also be subjected to an impartial internal investigation for the breach of department orders, as issued by the police department. Further, please request the NPC and the IGP to conduct a special investigation into the malpractices of police officers and for such blatant abuse of power.
Please note that the AHRC will write separate letters to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment regarding this incident and request for immediate invervention.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear …………….. ,
SRI LANKA: Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe , illegally arrested, hung, tortured, & tried on fabricated charges
Name of the victim: Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe (29) of No: 164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa in Chilaw in Puttalam District
Alleged perpetrator: Police Sergeant Basnayaka attached to the Chilaw Headquarters Police station
Date of incident: 9 May 2014
Place of incident: Chilaw Police Division
I am writing to express my serious concern over the case of Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, a resident of No.164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw in Puttalam District, who has been illegally arrested and severally tortured by the police officers attached to Headquarters Police Station of Chilaw. He had been illegaly detained at a room inside the bachelors quarters of the police station, hung from a rope from the ceiling and severely beaten with wooden poles, his private parts have been smeared with chilli and pepper, police officers have urinated into his mouth and this torture had continued for 7 days until he was finally produced before the Magistrate on fabricated charges of theft and released on bail on 16 May 2014.
The victim as a result of this inhuman treatment has suffered considerable injuries and the nerves of both his arms have been damaged from being hung from the ceiling and tortured. Sanjeewa is still under treatment at North Colombo Teaching Hospital.
As per the information I have received, Mr. Edirisinghe Devayalage Sanjeewa Edirisinghe, 29 years of age, is married and earns his living by repairing bicycles. He is a resident of No. 164, Heen Agara, Panirendawa, Chilaw, Puttalam District. Sanjeewa’s hometown is Ampara where his parents reside at No. D/31, Piyangala, Rajagalathenna, in Ampara. On 8 May 2014, the day before his arrest, he had been visiting his father, who has suddenly taken ill. Sanjeewa’s younger brother was also with his father at the time of this incident.
On 9 May 2014, around six persons forcibly entered Sanjeewa’s father’s home, at around 5 a.m., woke him up, and assaulted him inside the house and arrested Sanjeewa and his younger brother. Alarmed at the events, Sanjeewa’s father demanded to know the reasons for the assault and the arrest of his two sons. Following repeated questions from Sanjeewa’s father, one of the persons identified himself as Police Sergeant Basnayake and stated that they are all police officers attached to the Unresolved Crimes Unit of the Crime Branch of the Chilaw Police Headquarters but gave no reasons for the arrest.
Following the assault, Seargent Basnayaka demanded Sanjeewa to hand over any money in his possession. When Sanjeewa said that he does not have any money with him, Seargent Basnayake searched his bags for money and the other officers started to assault Sanjeewa again, punching and kicking him. Then they dragged him into the police vehicle parked outside the house. According to reports, officers kicked him and threw him into the back of the vehicle. Sanjeewa continued to be assaulted while the police jeep was in motion. Sanjeewa was first taken to the Bakki Ela Police Station and then to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters, where he was taken to a room inside the bachelor’s quarters, situated at the back of the police compound.
Seargent Basnayaka then brought photographs of two persons and asked Saneewa to indentify them as himself and his younger brother, which he vehemently refused. Angered by Sanjeewa’s refusal, Seargent Basnayake yelled abusive language at Sanjeewa and threatened that dire consequences and that Sanjeewa “better pray to God”. Then, the Seargent left the room.
After sometime, Seargent Basnayake returned with other officers and ordered Sanjeewa to remove all his clothes. Sanjeewa noticed that the police officers were carrying long poles in their hands and he recalls being in fear of being tortured. He feared the worst. At the insistence of the police officers, Sanjeewa removed all his clothes, following which Seargent Basnayake started to beat Sanjeewa’s buttocks and legs with the long wooden poles and Sanjeewa fell to the ground. Seargent Basnayake ordered him to stand up. When he stood up another officer made him stand on a chair. After he got up on the chair, an officer tied his hands behind his back with a rope and ordered him to look up and raise his hands while another officer tied his hands to a rope hanging from an overhead beam. After his hands were tied in this manner, an officer kicked the chair, and Sanjeewa was left hanging.
Immediately, Seargent Basnayaka started to assault him again, forcing Sanjeewa to admit that he had burgled a shop in Chilaw. Sanjeewa repeatedly denied and refused to admit to the theft and cried out that he had no knowledge of any such incident. Sanjeewa was by now in terrible and excruciating pain and he had cried out, screamed, and begged the officers to stop beating him. Sanjeewa recalls that he noticed Seargent Basnayake and other officers being in a total state of intoxicatoin. After a considerable length of time, Sanjeewa was lowered to the ground and left there. He had pleaded for water. The officer gave him water mixed with soap which he couldn’t drink.
Sanjeewa later saw that another officer had entered the room with hot green chili (Kochchi) and some ground powder, which Sanjeewa recognized as ground pepper. The officers ground the pepper and the green chillies together, following which Seargent Basnayake rubbed the mixture on Sanjeewa’s genitals and other areas of the body. Sanjeewa started to scream in agony from the enormous pain he was suffering and pleaded with the officers to release him but he was left lying on the ground. He was not able to stand up, and both his hands were numb from pain. Sanjeewa again pleaded with the officers to give him some water. Seargent Basnayake then walked over to Sanjeewa, opened his trouser zipper and urinated in his mouth.
It did not stop there; Seargent Basnayake continued to beat Sanjeewa’s feet with a wooden pole and continued to force him to admit to burgling a shop in Chilaw. Sanjeewa still refused to admit to any such offence and pleaded his innocence.
Sanjeewa was taken to another room in the bachelor quarters where he was provided with 4 bottles of water and was not given any food during the first day. Sanjeewa was detained in this room from 9 May to 12 May 2014. He was brutally beaten here from time to time by officers during his detention.
As a result of the severe torture, the beatings, and the hanging from the beam, Sanjeewa’s condition became critical. He was unable to stand up by himself. His legs and arms were swollen. Both his arms became numb and he lost movement in them. Police officers later obtained the services of an Ayurvedic Physician (doctors who administer indigenous medicines), who gave Sanjeewa some treatment. The Physician applied several ointments and treated Sanjeewa with some other medicines, tied to his hands and legs with band-aids and plasters.
On 12 May 2014, Sanjeewa’s wife was allowed to visit him at the police station. She observed that Sanjeewa was made to sit on a chair, inside the police station. And, she also learnt there that they had tied some medicines to his hands and legs and noticed that his body was being deliberately covered with a long-sleeved shirt.
On 13 May, Sanjeewa discovered that police officers had obtained photographs of Sanjeewa, his brother, and another detainee, Wathuthantreelage Presly Fernando, who were also detained at the police station, sent them for identification and verification to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) and received negative reports on all three detainees. Once this report was released, the police officers started to discuss amongst themselves and Sanjeewa observed that Seargent Basnayake refused to release Sanjeewa and Presely, since they were in poor health as a result of the torture, which may result in Seargent Basnayake losing his job. Sanjeewa overheard Sergeant Basnayake saying that the detainees cannot be released at this stage and the Seargent informed his senior officers that they have to file fabricated charges for both the detainees and should request the Magistrate to remand them.
Sometime later, Seargent Basnayaka warned Sanjeewa not to utter a single word on what took place at the police station to the Magistrate when produced in court. He also threatened Sanjeewa not to reveal any information on the torture after he was released. Seargeant Basnayake also told Sanjeewa that they had already arranged two lawyers to appear on their behalf in court. Sanjeewa was advised not to be concerned about anything else and that the police and the lawyers will handle the court case.
Sanjeewa and Presly were produced before the Magistrate’s Court and released on bail. Two lawyers appeared for Sanjeewa and Presly without their instructions. Sanjeewa later learnt that his brother was released without even being produced in court. According to Sanjeewa, the Chilaw police have filed a case with the reference B/ 892/2014 accusing Sanjeewa and Presly of theft.
Following his release, Seargent Basnayaka approached Sanjeewa and told him that he will be provided with medical treatment free of charge and gave him his mobile number to call him if needed. After Sanjeewa returned home, the Ayurvedic Physician visited him several times and provided him some medications. After several days of treatment, the Physician stopped his visits, which had been paid by Seargent Basnayake, including the three-wheeler the Physician travelled in. Sanjeewa had then called Seargent Basnayake and told him that he was still in pain and in need of further treatment, to which Seargent Basnayaka asked Sanjeewa to send his wife to the Seargent and the Sergeant would send her back with money the next morning. Fearing more harassment by Seargent Basnayake, Sanjeewa refrained from calling him again.
The following day, Sanjeewa lodged a complaint with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission. The other detainee, Presly, also lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission the same day. Sanjeewa later admitted himself to the Chilaw Base Hospital, but was suddenly discharged the next day though he needed further treatment. Sanjeewa believes that he was discharged due to undue influence of the police officers responsible for torturing him.
As his medical condition failed to improve, Sanjeewa again admitted himself at the Chilaw Base Hospital and requested that he be treated. The doctors this time conducted further medical examinations, which revealed that Sanjeewa had suffered critical damage to the nerves on his hands as a result of the torture and as a result of being hung by a rope from a beam. Sanjeewa was later transferred to the North Colombo Teaching Hospital for further examination and treatment. Before he was transferred to the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, several police officers attached to the Crime Branch of the Headquarters Police Station of Chilaw warned him not to continue getting treatment at that hospital. However, despite threats from the police officers, the hospital authorities of the Chilaw Base Hospital were able to transfer Sanjeewa in an ambulance. Sanjeewa is currently receiving treatment at the North Colombo Teaching Hospital, in ward 30, bed no. 5.
Sanjeewa and his family members are seeking justice and the protection of his rights, guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka.
I hereby request your good offices to intervene to commence with immediate effect an investigation into the above allegations of illegal arrest, detention of Sanjeewa for a week, and torture by the officers attached to the Chilaw Police Station Headquarters. I also urge you to ensure the prosecution of the police officers involved in the torture and for abusing the power conferred on them. The officers involved must also be subjected to an impartial internal investigation for the breach of department orders, as issued by the police department. I also earnestly urge and request the NPC and the IGP to conduct a special investigation into the malpractices of police officers and for such blatant abuse of power.
Yours sincerely,
———————————————–
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. N K Illangakoon
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
2. Mr. Sarath Palitha Fernando
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk
3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk
4. Secretary
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
No: 165 Kynsey Road,
Borella, Colombo 8.
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2694924
Email: sechrc@sltnet.lk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
