Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the illegal arrest and detention of a man in Kandy in May 2008 who was not produced before a court for four months. During detention the police tortured him to confess to being a terrorist.
CASE DETAILS: (Based on the testimony of the victims father Ramiah Pushpanadan)
On May 7, Mr. Ramiah Ruba Sandran was asked to come to the Balagolla Police Station, where he was questioned and released. On May 10 he was again requested to come to the police station where he was held overnight before being released the following day. He was repeatedly questioned as to whether he was involved in terrorist activities. On May 13, on his way to work, officers attached to the Balagolla Police Station forced him into a cab and took him away.
On hearing about his abduction, his relatives went to the Balagolla police station where officers denied that he had been arrested. They returned the following day and were again told that Sandran had been arrested. When his relatives went to the police station the following day, now the third visit, they were told that he was being held in the Kandy Police Station. However, when they attended that police station his relatives were not permitted to see him.
Onn May 17, he was brought to his home in handcuffs. The accompanying officers searched the house for weapons during which time the family saw him being kicked and beaten by police officers, including Inspector of Police Nishantha, of the Kandy Police Station. The family also noted that the police were under the influence of liquor at the time. Finally, on May 19, his brother was allowed to see him but was ordered to speak only in Sinhala (the language, spoken by the majority ethnic group in the country).
On July 23, his brother, wife and 19-year-old daughter were asked to come to the Kandy Police Station. At the station, the wife and the daughter were taken into a room and made to stand in front of Sandran. The officers threatened that they would arrest his wife and daughter if he did not confess that he was a terrorist. The relatives stated that he appeared very pale and was crying. He was forbidden to speak about his torture.
It is reported that, during the entire period of his detention of 4 months, he had never been examined by a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO). He was produced before a court in the first week of September and subsequently detained at the Kandy Police Station. On September 19, he was arraigned before the Kandy Magistrate’s court where his detention was extended until September 22. At the time of writing he is still in a police cell in the Kandy Police Station. His relatives are allowed to visit him on Wednesdays and Sundays. No charges have yet been laid against him.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
During the 1983 ethnic riots in the country, the family had left their home in Balagolla and taken refuge in Mankulam (North of Sri-Lanka) where they lived in a refugee camp. They returned in 1997 to Balagolla and Sandran started working as a casual laborer. They live in rooms of a former colonised estate. Sandran had employment as a labourer in a hardware shop in 2008.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the relevant authorities listed below urging them to investigate the illegal arrest, detention and torture of Ramiah Ruba Sandran.
Please be informed that the AHRC has written a separate 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
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear __________,
SRI LANKA: Police allegedly torture a man and detain him for four months
Name of victim: Mr. Ramiah Ruba Sandran, 43; labourer; married with 4 children–three daughters (19, 16 and 10) and one son (14); resident of 21/1, Balagolla, Kandy; currently detained at Kandy Police Station
Name of alleged perpetrators: Officers including Inspector of Police attached to Balagolla Police Station and Kandy Police Station
Date of incident: Since 13 May 2008
Place of incident: Balagolla Police Station, Kandy Dist. III, Kandy Division, Central Range (West); Kandy Police Station, Kandy Dist. I, Kandy Division, Central Range (West)
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding an illegal arrest, detention and torture of a man by the Balagolla police on May 13.
According to the information I have received, the Balagolla police first denied the illegal arrest and detention of Ramiah Ruba Sandran, but later informed his family on their third visit that the victim was in the Kandy Police Station on May 15. In the meantime, he was brought to his house where officers searched for weapons whilst under the influence of liquor. They assaulted him during the process on May 17.
I am informed that when his relatives were asked to come to the Kandy Police Station on July 23, his wife and daughter were taken into a room and made to stand in front of Ruba Sandran. Officers threatened that they would arrest his wife and daughter if he did not confess that he was a terrorist. His relatives stated that he appeared very pale and was crying, and that he was forbidden to speak about his torture.
Surprisingly, from the information that I have learned, he had never been examined by a Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) for the entire period of his detention of 4 months and was only produced before a Kandy Magistrate’s court the first week of September. No charges have been made against him, but his detention order was renewed by the Magistrate.
Even though the police kept him in custody for several months, they failed to provide concrete evidence to prove he is a terrorist. Even worse, he had been detained for four months where he was allegedly tortured by the officers who also threatened the arrest of his family unless he confessed to being a terrorist. His relatives had not been properly informed about his arrest and detention due to the lack of administration of justice in the country.
I therefore urge you to conduct an immediate investigation into the illegal arrest, detention and torture of Ramiah Ruba Sandran so that those responsible are effectively prosecuted and punished according to the law. In order to prevent the relatives from suffering from the unknown whereabouts of the arrestees, the failure of administration of justice should be addressed as well.
Knowing that charges have not yet been laid against the victim, I also urge you to provide concrete evidence that can prove his involvement in a terrorist activity not solely depending on his confession while in the detention, but depending on real evidence. If this fails, the police should release him on the grounds that confession by torture shall not be used as evidence before a court. I further urge you to ensure that he is no longer tortured or ill treated by the police in the Kandy Police Station where he is currently being detained. To make it sure of this, I finally urge you to transport him to another place.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Professor Rajiva Wijesinha
Secretary
Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights
2, Wijerama Mawatha
Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 269 3284
E-mail: info@dmhr.gov.lk
2. Mr. Jayantha Wickramaratne
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
3. Chairperson
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
4. Mr. Hemantha Priyasanth Dep
Acting Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk
5. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
