SRI LANKA: Arbitrary shootings and recklessness by the Opanayake police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of Mr. Wijethileka who was shot twice in the back by two Opanayake police officers.  The victim was running away from an unprovoked attack by the Opanayake police on a crowd of villagers who were looking at several valuable gemstones discovered in a gemming field.  The police officers had aimed several gunshots and rounds of tear gas on the crowd of villagers.

The villagers immediately took the severely injured Mr. Wijethileka to the Balangoda Hospital where he was later transferred to the Ratnapura General Hospital.  One of the bullets penetrated the victim’s lung and he was hospitalised for more than 10 days.  Although complaints against the Opanayake police were recorded by the hospital police as well as the Judicial Medical Officer, to date no steps have been taken to investigate or inquire into the action of the Opanayake police.  Furthermore, due to the serious nature of the victim’s injuries he has been unable to lift any weight and this has severely impeded upon his livelihood.

We request your urgent action in asking the Inspector General of the Police, to ensure that the Special Investigations Unit immediately commence an investigation into the alleged conduct of the police officers from the Opanayake police station against the villagers and Mr. Wijethileka.  Furthermore, the National Police Commission and the Human Rights Commission should take immediate legal action against the errant policemen so that they are made accountable for their crimes.  If it is found that the two policemen did shoot Mr. Wijethileka then they must be brought before a criminal court and tried for their misconduct.  Protection must also be afforded to the victim and his family during the investigation of the police officers and compensation needs to be offered to Mr. Wijethileka for medical treatment and the trauma he has suffered.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: K.D. Shantha Wijethileka, 24 year old, trader in porcelain goods and a resident of Udagama village, Opanayake
Alleged perpetrators: Policemen attached to the Opanayake Police station.
Place of incident: Near a gemming field in the town of Opanayake
Date of incident: 21 July 2005

Case details:

The Ratnapura District, about 600 miles South East of Colombo is famous for its lucrative gemming industry.  Opanayake is a town in the Ratnapura District.  On 21 July 2005 around 12 noon, several valuable gems were unearthed in a gemming field nearby Udagama.  Shantha Wijethileka together with his brother-in-law rushed to the area, which was already filling with fellow villagers all eager to witness the discovery of the gems.

According to Mr. Wijethileka, when he was approaching the scene, he heard several gun shots.  The people became frightened and began to disperse, shouting that the police were shooting at them.  Then, a round of tear gas was also aimed at the crowd.  Thus in fear of his safety, Mr. Wijethileka decided to leave the place and ran along a short cut that led to his house.  At that moment he was shot in the back and when he turned around to see who had shot him, he saw two policemen aiming their guns at him.  Despite being hit, the victim dragged himself about 25 to 30 feet away from the police.  But he was shot again in the back for a second time by the same police officers even though he was totally unarmed and posed no threat to anybody.  The victim says then when he looked behind him, he recognised the policemen who were shooting at him.

The villagers rushed the severely injured victim to the Balangoda Hospital where he was later transferred to the Ratnapura General Hospital.  One of the bullets had penetrated the victim’s lung and so he was compelled to stay in the hospital for more than 10 days.  When the victim was fit enough, he filed a complaint against the Opanayake police with the hospital police as well as with the Judicial Medical Officer.  However, to date no investigation or legal action has been taken against the perpetrators who shot Mr. Wijethileka in the back.  Due to the hospitalisation and the severe nature of his injuries, the victim has been unable to lift any weight and this has seriously impeded upon his livelihood.

According to the villagers when the people started gathering around the place where the gem stones were discovered, this frightened the gem merchants who had called in the police to disperse the crowd.  It is alleged that the police, in their over-enthusiasm to please the gem merchants, randomly fired at the villagers to break up the crowd.  This behaviour put the villagers’ life in jeopardy and led to the severe injury to Mr. Wijethileka.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Inspector General of Police voicing the need to properly and independently investigate the misconduct of the Opanayake police against Mr. Wijethileka.  Furthermore, please urge the National Police Commission and the Human Rights Commission to take immediate legal action against the errant policemen so that they are made accountable for their crimes.

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