SRI LANKA: Two persons severely injured after being tortured by iron rods by the Wattegama police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information about the very serious torture of two civilians named Rohitha Upali Liyanage and Sarath Bandara Ekanayake by the Wattegama police on 28 July 2005. According to the information we have received, the two men were brutally tortured by two police constables, who appeared drunk, with iron rods for no reason. The only possible reason for the assault was that Rohitha and Sarath asked the constables, who allegedly took their motorcycle without informing them, to return the motorcycle to them.

They were both severely injured and Rohitha’s leg was broken due to the assault. Despite this, the police did not provide any treatment, and simply put the two bleeding men into a police jeep and took them to the police station where they were beaten again. Later the two victims were hospitalized at the Kandy Hospital. In the meantime, the Wattegama police fabricated charges against them to cover up their crime on July 29.

Sarath was discharged from the hospital and detained at the remand prison, while Rohitha is still in the hospital under police custody. Both men were charged by the police for attacking a police jeep and were asked to appear in court on August 5 (Case No. B 600/2005).

We call for your urgent action in this case. Please demand the Sri Lankan authorities to inquire into the torture, the possible theft of the motorcycle by the constables, and the fabrication of charges against the victims. Please also urge them to withdraw the false charges against the victims and ensure full medical care to them.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victims: 1) Rohitha Upali Liyanage, 2) Sarath Bandara Ekanayake
Alleged perpetrators: 1) Police constable Rajapakse, 2) Police constable Balasurya, 3) Several other police constables attached to the Wattegama Police Station
Date of incident: 28 July 2005
Place of incident: Walala (near Wattegama) Junction and Wattegama Police Station
Case status: The victims were severely injured due to torture and the police fabricated charges against them to cover-up their crime

Case details:

At 11:00pm on 28 July 2005, Rohitha Upali Liyanage and Sarath Bandara Ekanayake went for a ride on their motorcycle and stopped the bike near a friend’s house at Walala (near Wattegama) Junction and where they went to see Rohitha’s sister who was a patient. When they returned the bike was missing. They asked their friend Senaka and his wife if they had seen someone take the bike, but they replied that that they did not know its whereabouts. When they were searching for the motorcycle, two constables from the Wattegama Police Station named Rajapakse and Balasuriya approached them on their motorcycle. When Rohitha and Sarath asked for its return, the police constables, who appeared to be drunk, started beating the two men with iron rods.

During the assault, one of Rohitha’s legs was broken. While the two police constables were beating Rohitha and Sarath, a police jeep came to the scene. However, the police constables in the jeep also alighted and assaulted the victims. Rohitha and Sarath pleaded with the police not to assault them. Only when Rohitha told them that his leg was broken, did they stop the torture and one constable put two wooden planks along his leg to support it. They then put the two men into the jeep and took them to the Wattegama Police Station where they were beaten again. After that, the police took them to the Wattegama Hospital and then they were taken to the Kandy Hospital by ambulance.

Sarath was discharged from the hospital a few days later and remanded on August 3. Rohitha is still being treated in the Kandy Hospital. Both of them were charged by the police for attacking a police jeep and were asked to appear in court on August 5 (Case No. B 600/2005). The Wattegama police made an entry about this case on July 29 (Case No.: C.I.B 2 38/526).

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