SRI LANKA: Brutal torture of a minor by Uragaha Police 

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the case of 16-year-old, W.K. Nilantha who was taken by two home guards to the Uragaha Police Station and severely tortured by police officers.  According to the victim, several policemen tied his hands behind his back and hung him from the ceiling with rope. They then proceeded to severely hit him with wooden poles, especially on the soles of his feet, until he began to bleed.

Later the police took the victim to the Uragaha Government Hospital where a doctor, after examining him, said there was nothing wrong with him.  Thereafter he was taken to the Galle remand prison where the victim told the prison authorities of the torture by the police. He was then admitted to the prison hospital for four days. The victim was then transferred to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital where he was warded for seven days.

We request your urgent intervention in asking the Inspector General of the Police to order the Special Investigations Unit to immediately commence an investigation into the alleged conduct of the Uragaha Police. If it is found that the alleged perpetrators committed crimes against Nilantha, they must be made accountable and if found guilty of torture, indicted under the CAT Act (Act No. 22 of 1994).  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 W.K. Nilantha for the pain and distress he has suffered and also for his medical expenses.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Victim: W.K. Nilantha, 16 years-of-age and educated up to grade 6; currently employed as a casual labourer
Address: Obadawatte, Bentota
Alleged Perpetrators: Super Intendent Silva and two other police officers of the Uragaha Police Station

Date of incident:  7 October 2005
Place of incident: Uragaha Police Station

Case details:

At approximately 4:00am on 7 October 2005, a villager named Sandalal escorted the victim under threat to a village boutique popularly known as ‘Sarath Kada (Sarath boutique). There, the victim was instructed to climb onto the boutique roof, lower himself down inside and bring whatever he could find out from inside the boutique. However, when the victim entered the boutique from the roof, several people inside caught him and tied him up. Then two home guards from the Uragaha police station came and took him to the police station.

At the station, the victim was locked in a cell for some time. Then he was taken into another room and fingerprinted. According to the victim, several policemen tied his hands behind his back and hung him from the ceiling with rope. They then severely tortured him with Kurundu and Kitul poles (hard wooden poles), especially on the soles of his feet, until his soles began to bleed. They then lowered him onto the ground and continued to torture him by hitting him with the poles and savagely kicking him with their boots. The victim says he was bleeding from his nose. The policemen then dragged him to a lavatory and forced his head into a basin filled with water mixed with chilli powder.

The police then handcuffed the victim, put him in a police jeep and took him to an isolated field where they resumed their torture on him. He says he was tortured with poles. He was dragged back into the jeep and brought back to the police station. According to the victim, he could not tolerate the torture anymore, so despite his injuries, as he was getting down from the police vehicle he escaped and ran to the Uragaha Government Hospital adjoining the police station. However, the policemen caught up with him and severely tortured him inside the hospital premises. Then they took him back to the station.

Later the police took him to the Uragaha Government Hospital.  Despite the victim suffering severe and visible injuries, a doctor at the hospital examined him and concluded that ‘there is nothing wrong with you’. Thereafter he was taken to the Galle remand prison where the victim insists he told the prison authorities that the police had tortured him. He was thereafter admitted to the prison hospital for four days. Later the prison officials took him to the Karapitiya Teaching hospital – presumably because the prison hospital was not equipped to treat his injuries – and the victim was warded there for seven days. The victim says that a surgical operation was also performed on him.

One month later, the victim – who hails from a very poor family – is still physically and mentally suffering from the brutal torture he endured at the hands of the Uragaha police.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the Inspector General of Police requesting him to order an impartial inquiry by the Special Investigation Unit into this incident so that the perpetrators are duly punished and the victim is compensated for the damages he suffered while he was in custody.

 

 

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