SRI LANKA: Rape of a female passenger by the airport officers inside of the Bandaranayake International Airport 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is shocked by the incident of a Sri Lankan female passenger being raped by airport officers inside of the Bandarnayake International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka on 10 October 2005. The victim was reportedly threatened at knife-point and forcibly drugged before being raped. She was then put onto a flight to another country immediately after the incident.

This incident is a gross violation of human rights, which is only possible in a country where there has been a complete collapse in the rule of law.

The AHRC strongly urges the Sri Lankan government to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident immediately. We particularly urge the Sri Lankan government to take action against the Airport authority who failed to prevent such incident as a supervision responsibility.

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

Name of the victim: Ms. X (Name withheld), aged 23, mother of a one-year-old boy
Alleged perpetrators: Four airport officers, including two security personnel and two casual workers from the Janitorial Services Company
Date of incident:  10 October 2005
Place of incident: Inside of the Bandarnayake International Airport in Katunayake, Sri Lanka

Case details:

On 10 October 2005, a 23-year-old female Sri Lankan passenger was on her way to Kuwait to work as a domestic helper. Her flight was scheduled for 7:30am and she arrived at the Bandarnayake International Airport in Katunayake at 4:30am where she went through the check-in procedure. After that, an airport security personnel approached her and questioned her whether she was going to Kuwait and asked her what was the name of her employment agency. Despite answering his questions, she was told that she needed to be searched again.

She was forced into a room on the 1st floor of the airport where civilians are not allowed to enter. There she was confronted by the other three airport officers; one security personnel and two casual workers from the Janitorial Services Company.  They then threatened her by revealing a knife before taking her to the cleaners’ quarters where they drugged her. She reported that the perpetrators forced her to drink a powdery substance and soon after she became unconscious. The four alleged perpetrators then raped her. As the victim’s flight time approached, one of the perpetrators accompanied her to the awaiting aircraft. The victim was placed on the aircraft and flew out of the country. As a result, the victim was deprived of her right to make an immediate complaint regarding the incident.

The victim reached her destination but was feeling unwell. As she reached her workplace, she began to vomit because of the drugs that had been given to her. Her employers then lodged an entry at the Kuwaiti police before returning her on a flight to Sri Lanka. The Kuwaiti police informed their counterparts in Sri Lanka. When she arrived back into Sri Lanka, she made an entry at the airport police station and also with the Foreign Employment Bureau. The Officer in Charge (OIC) of the airport police warded her at the Negombo Hospital for further medical treatment. She later also complained to the Wellawa police regarding the incident. Superintendent of Police (SP), Negombo, Premasiri Vithanage initiated inquiries into the victim’s complaint. Five persons were interrogated by the police and four persons were ordered to be remanded on October 20 by the Kanuwna Circuit Magistrate Court until October 26. However, so far there has been no information forthcoming as to whether the police have taken any concrete action against the alleged perpetrators or the airport authority regarding their supervision failure.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

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