SRI LANKA: No prosecution of the police officers responsible for torturing FTZ workers

Dear friends, 

Mr. K H Rangana Pushpakumara (31) of No: 140/A, Webada West, Webada is married and works at Noratel Lanka Ltd in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Katunaya. On 30 May 2011 Rangana participated in an action organized by the factory workers trade unions. Police officers attached to the Katunayake Police Station approached the workers and without issuing any warnings started assaulting them. Rangana was injured but was not provided with medical treatment which in itself constitutes torture. He and the other workers were brought to the Katunayaka Police Station where they were detained illegally for two hours. Then Ranagana was warned and brought to the Wijeya Kumaratunaga Government Hospital and then to the Ragama Teaching Hospital where he was treated there for five days. No police officers have been arrested for illegally arresting and publicly torturing or detaining Rangana and other fellow workers. Despite the fact that many trade unions and the civil society organizations continue to seek justice no action has been taken against the errant officers or their commanders. 

CASE NARRATIVE: 

According to the information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received Mr. K H Rangana Pushpakumara (31) of No: 140/A, Webada West, Webada. Rangana is married and works at Noratel Lanka Ltd in the Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Katunaya. 

On 30 May 2011 Rangana reported to his factory in the FTZ at 6 am. Then by 10.30 am it was announced that there would be a collective trade union action by all the workers against the newly introduced government’s Private Sector Pension Bill in front of the main gate of the FTZ so thousands of workers came and participated for the protest. 

Within few minute hundreds of police officers mainly attached to the Katunayaka Police Station surrounded the protesting workers. Then the police officers without making any warning started to beat the workers. Those in front of the gathering were the female workers and they were beaten indiscriminately by the police. 

The police baton charged the workers before using tear gas and the workers ran inside the factories for the protection. 

The police then entered the FTZ and started to chase the workers, entering into the factories. They then started to drag the workers form the factories to the gate following which they intentionally started to damage the factory property and the vehicles which were parked in the compounds. 

Later the police officers ordered the workers to form two lines. The officers then stood on either side and instructed the workers to move forward. As they did the police officers beat them from both sides with poles and iron chains. If any worker looked directly at a police officer then that particular worker was severely beaten again. The workers were terrified with this situation. 

Many workers were injured. Rangana was injured and started to bleed from his hand. But the police paid no attention to him or any of the other workers who were injured. 

The workers were then loaded on to buses and taken to the Katunayaka Police Station. The workers who were injured started to scream and Rangana also screamed and asked the other workers to help him to get relief from the enormous pained that he suffered but no assistance was provided by the police. 

At the police station Rangana and the other workers were asked to provide the names and the addresses of the other workers. Out of fear of further torture all the workers gave the information that the police demanded. They were detained for more than one and half hours at the police station and Rangana observed that more than 200 workers were at the police station at that time. 

The officers then ordered the workers to come out of the station and to sit on the ground surrounding the bus which had brought them to the station. The workers followed the orders but Rangana fainted and fell to the ground. None of the police officers provided any treatment for his injuries. When he was able to look around then he observed that there were dozens of workers who were injured and like him, some had fainted due to the hot sun. 

After 30 minutes a senior military officer came to the scene with Sarath Gunarathna, a powerful politician who is the deputy minister of the area. They warned the workers that this would be the result if they engaged in protests against the government. He further warned the workers that by taking trade union action some political parties benefited so they should not participated in them. 

Then the senior military officer ordered the workers to be taken back to the main gate of the FTZ. Then the officer observed that another set of workers were still participating in the trade union action against the same Bill. He ordered the injured workers to go and inform the protesting workers that they were injured and beaten for protesting and to stop the protest. Some injured workers did the same while the police officers and the senior military officer watched their movements. 

After that the other workers saw how Rangana and the other workers were injured as a result of participating in the protest and stopped their actions. 

Finally Rangana, along with the other injured workers were brought to the Wijaya Kumaratunga Government Hospital for treatment and Rangana was admitted. He was then transferred to the Teaching Hospital of Ragama for further treatment 

Rangana was discharged from the Ragama Hospital after five days. Rangana has not regained complete use of his right hand. He has registered a complaint with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka but no action has been taken on his complaint. He has now filed an fundamental rights application with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and is waiting for justice. 

In this particular matter several thousand workers, trade unions of the country and civil rights movements, nationally and internationally paid their attention from the very beginning of this case. They all collectively raised their voices seeking justice for the victims. 

Still the state’s law enforcement authorities have not shown any interest in a credible investigation into severely injuring many innocents in public. Further still the state has not arrested all the responsible police officers for torturing the workers. 

It is most important that the state ensures that this type of behaviour on the part of the law enforcement agencies is never repeated in the future. 

However, in the present situation justice has been denied for all the victims. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of extra judicially killing the citizen and torturing innocent 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. 

The State of Sri Lanka sign and ratified the CAT on 3 January 1994. Following state obligations Sri Lanka adopted Act number 22 of 1994 the law adopted by the Sri Lankan parliament making torture a crime that can be punishable for minimum seven years and not less than ten years on being proven guilty. The Attorney General of Sri Lanka is suppose to file indictments in the case where credible evidence were found on torturing people by state officers. 

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 extrajudicial killing by the police perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of a state. 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. 

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on this regard. 

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