SRI LANKA: Giriulla Police tortured an innocent man after illegal detention 

Dear friends,

Mr. T. A. Erantha Srinath is a clerk by profession. He was illegally detained and tortured by the Giriulla Police on 31 August 2012. Erantha Srinath and his colleagues were at Hettipola to worship the Kapilawasthu Relics, his mother & a little child who came with them went missing so he pleaded for the help of police officers to find them. Instead of assisting him he was subjected to Inhumane degrading treatment.

This case is yet another illustration of the arbitrary and unpredictable behaviour of Sri Lankan police officers who care nothing for the wellbeing of the citizens they are supposed to be protecting and assisting.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. T.A Erantha Srinath (27) of No: 07, Puttalam Road, Mangala Eliya in the Puttalam District is a Clerk by profession.

On 31 August, 2012, Erantha & his colleagues went to a Shrine at Wariyapola to worship the Kapilawasthu Relics. They reached Hettipola at about 7pm and found out that the area was crowded with people.

When they were informed by the police that they could not go drive their vehicle any further they parked and started to walk. They joined with a 7 km long queue from Hettipola to Wariyapola.The pilgrims who have come early morning were still there, waiting for their chance. Since it was raining and they were carrying children, Erantha and colleagues decided to go back without worshipping the relics.

It was then that they found out that his mother and a little child who had come with them were missing. Then they began to walk ahead with the idea of searching for their missing loved ones. They met with some police officers who were standing some distance away and asked them for assistance but realised that the officers were heavily intoxicated.

Erantha decided there were nothing else to do except plead for help from the drunken officers. So he asked the police officers, “Sir, my mother & a child is missing. Can you help us with finding them?” The officers answered rudely, “It’s not only yours, but also lots of other’s children are missing here, without bothering us go back to the queue. Don’t break the line” Then Erantha told them that;”Sir, we don’t want to worship the Relics. We just want to find them. We looked for them up to here. Please let one of us to go frontward to look for them.” The response was brutal. “I told you once, get lost. If you have lost your child, produce another one” the officer said. Then Erantha told him “Sir, you don’t have a right to talk like this. You are here to protect law and order, not to harass civilians. Then an annoyed police officer (34255) said; “Are you going to teach us law?” Then he grabbed his neck and slapped several times. Even then Erantha told him that the officer did not have the right to hit him.

Further he asked that if he was doing something wrong, act according to law. Then that police officer pushed Erantha to another police officer (55096), asking him to get Erantha into the jeep. He too hit Erantha and asked him for his National Identity Card. Erantha gave it to him, asking him not to hit him and if they did so, he would complain against the police officers. He asked further to arrest him if they would but to let him to find his mother. Then another officer said “We are not afraid of anything. If we are, we won’t do this job. Complain wherever you want.” and he slapped him too. Then Erantha asked one friend of him to write down the identity numbers of those police officers. As the officer who slapped him last, went away, the friend was unable to write his number. After almost three hours they found their lost ones and came back home.

Due to the beating he received at the hands of the officers Erantha developed an earache which he suffered for about one week. A man, who was there at the place where the incident was taken place, told Erantha that the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Giriulla Police Station was there. At that time there were lots of people who were looking for their lost loved ones and they were unreasonably restricted by the police. One drunkard officer blamed a crying mother who had lost her child. A man who is thought to be her husband tried to complain to an officer but he was threatened and told to shut up.

Erantha states that he was illegally detained and tortured severely in front of the public by the police officers. He further states that in treating him in this manner they violated his fundamental rights.

He complained to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of the area, the Officer in Charge of the Police Station of Giriulla and Attorney General (AG) seeking the justice for his rights violations. To-date none of these authorities have initiated a credible investigation in the incident. Erantha now appeals for justice.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

The Asian Human Rights Commission has reported innumerable cases of the abuse and torture of innocent people by the Sri Lankan police which is illegal under international and local law which. Such torture has taken place at different Police Stations in the country over the past few years.

The State of Sri Lanka has signed 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 of illegal arrest, illegal 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 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 Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on this regard.

 

 

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