SRI LANKA: A young man tortured allegedly in revenge for his parent’s campaign against the illicit liquor trade 

Dear friends,

It has come to the attention of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) that a 21-year-old man was tortured by police personnel attached to the Horana police station on 5 January 2006. The police raided the victim’s house and took him into custody without providing any arrest warrant or giving any reason for his detention. The victim spent one day in detention, where he claims he was tortured by some police officers, including Sergeant Rajapakse and Police Constable Chandraratne. On his release, the victim was taken to the Horana hospital where he was warded for several days. To date the victim has not been informed by the police as to whether he is suspected of having committing a crime. His parents however, claim that their son was detained and tortured in response to their recent campaign against the illicit liquor trade.

Your urgent intervention is required to have the victim’s allegation of arbitrary detention and torture perpetrated by the policemen investigated thoroughly as stipulated in the Convention against Torture Act (CAT) No. 22 of 1994 of Sri Lanka. The policemen involved must be suspended from their duty once the investigation commences. An inquiry should also be conducted into who instructed the police to detain the victim in the first instance.

Please also urge the concerned government agencies in Sri Lanka to reimburse the victim of his medical expenses. Additionally, the victim must be placed in a rehabilitation programme for adequate medical and trauma treatment.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of victim: R.D. Kanishka Gayan, 21-years-old, unmarried; Occupation: mechanic; Address: Wewala, Horana.
Name of alleged perpetrators: Sergeant Rajapakse, PC Chandraratne and others from the Horana police
Date of incident: 5 January 2006

On 5 January 2006 around 1.00am there was shouting and banging on the front door of G. Anulawathi’s home. The callers identified themselves as the police and demanded that they open the door. Anulawathi’s daughter, Tamarasi opened the door. Three policemen armed with guns barged into their home and demanded to see her brother, Kanishka Gayan. Tamarasi said he was sleeping. One policeman, Chandrarathne (reg. no 31288) went into the room in which the victim was sleeping. The other two policemen went into the rooms in which four girls were sleeping and began to search the room. They dragged the victim outside and readied themselves to take him to the police station. His mother queried as to why they were arresting her son but the only reply she got was a barrage of filthy language. They even threw stones at her. They then put the son into a private vehicle in which they had arrived and went away.

Around 4.00am Kanishka Gayan’s father and brother-in-law went to the Horana police station in search of him. They arrived home around 10 that same morning and said that the boy had been severely assaulted at the police station. They had been told to return to the police station around 11.00am. Therefore, at 11 they returned to the police station, along with the mother. They met with the Officer-In-Charge, Inspector Irasinghe who said the boy would be released in the evening. Around 5pm Kanishka Gayan returned home. He complained that he had been tortured at the police station and was feeling ill. He also said that Sergeant Rajapakse brutally assaulted him and that he could recognise the other perpetrators if seen again. Later, the family took him to the Horana hospital where he was warded for several days. To date the victim has not been informed by the police as to whether he is suspected of having committing a crime.

But according to Anulawathi, her and her husband had recently organised a group of villagers to stand up against the use of illicit liquor in their village. At the first meeting the husband and wife spoke strongly against this growing menace. They suspect that their son was illegally arrested and tortured as revenge by those who had been adversely affected by their campaign. That is, the traffickers as well as the police who live off the takings from this lucrative business. Anulawathi also suspects that the private van in which the police came to arrest her son belonged to one of these illicit liquor traders.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities below and demand that criminal proceedings be instituted against the responsible officers, and they be suspended from their duty in the meantime. Adequate compensation must also be provided to the victim.

 

 

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