Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information concerning the harassment of a bus driver by members of the police, which illustrates the breakdown of the rule of law, the deeply entrenched cultures of police corruption and impunity and the helplessness of the Sri Lankan people in their daily lives.
On October 30, 2005, 24-year old N.G. Sudath Udaya Kumara of Navadagala, Galle was driving his bus, bearing no. 62-7087, from Colombo to Elpitiya when, at about 2 p.m., he was stopped near the Odeon Cinema in Mt. Lavinia by a policeman riding a motorbike. The policeman (identified as no. 31874) requested Mr. Kumara’s driver’s licence and told him that he was charging him with dangerous driving and failing to drive on the left-hand side of the road.
Mr. Kumara reportedly attempted to explain to the policeman that he had to drive on the right side of the road because there was a bus parked at the bus stop. However, the policeman only shouted at him, using degrading language and even threatened to assault him. He then demanded all the documents pertaining to the vehicle and confiscated Mr. Kumara’s driver’s licence, but failed to issue Mr. Kumara with a temporary licence, as is required by law.
Mr. Kumara then proceeded to the Mt Lavinia police station. Policeman No 31874 was present there, and he pushed Mr. Kumara towards the traffic unit and continued to abuse him verbally. He reportedly told the policemen at the traffic unit various falsehoods about Mr. Kumara and, as a result, those policemen also began questioning and harassing him. The policemen also threatened him for not ‘behaving in a proper manner’ within the police station. Policeman No 31874 allegedly told the others that members of the police were charged bus fares when they travelled in Mr. Kumara’s bus, so they should charge him with the maximum offences possible. He was further harassed inside the station and thereafter told to attend court on the following day at 9.00 a.m.
Mr. Kumara also says that the police forced him and his assistant to sign two pages the content of which were not shown nor read out to them. The next day he attended court as required and pleaded innocent to all the charges against him. The case was postponed to January 2, 2006 and he was released on Rs. 5000 bail. Furthermore, because the police did not give him a temporary licence, he had to retain a lawyer to obtain his licence back from the courts. Following a special application to court, his lawyer has been able to get his licence back and Mr. Kumara has been able to return to work.
Subsequently, Mr. Kumara was found not guilty of three of the five charges filed against him. He was found guilty of ‘not driving on left side of road’ and ‘not adhering to police orders’. He has since launched an appeal against these convictions, but to date there has been no progress concerning the appeal. Fabricated charges, such as ‘not adhering to police orders,’ are used by the police to subjugate citizens and to perpetuate the climate of fear that enables the day to day corruption that pervades the Sri Lankan system.
It is alleged that the main reason that prompted policeman No 31874 and then other policemen to harass and threaten Mr. Kumara is the fact that members of the police in Sri Lanka normally expect a free ride on public buses. They also demand free meals and goods from shops and restaurants. Anyone who refuses them risks being harassed and having fabricated charges filed against them. Mr. Kumara reportedly does not give policemen free rides on his bus, and he feels that he was stopped by policeman No 31874 because of this fact, notably due to the fact that he was in addition arbitrarily insulted and threatened with assault.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below requesting their immediate intervention in this case. The actions of policeman No 31874 need to be the subject of an impartial and independent investigation. Mr. Kumara’s appeal must be processed in court in a reasonable time frame and, if the police were found to have acted in violation of his rights, he should be awarded compensation. If the police are found to have fabricated charges against him, they should be made accountable. More generally, the authorities must immediately take measures to halt the widespread corruption of the police force in Sri Lanka. The police’s conduct should be monitored by an independent body to ensure that the every-day practices of corruption, such as demands for free products and the filing of fabricated charges, are systematically punished and eradicated from policing in Sri Lanka.
To support this appeal please click here:
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
SRI LANKA: Police harass bus driver, file allegedly fabricated charges against him
Name of the victim: N.G. Sudath Udaya Kumara (24) of Navadagala, Galle. Unmarried; Occupation: bus driver.
Alleged perpetrators: policeman No 31874 and other members of the police at the Mt Lavinia police station
Place of the incident: Mt Lavinia and Mt Lavinia police station
Date of incident: October 30, 2005
I write to express my deep concern regarding the harassment of a bus driver by members of the police, which illustrates the breakdown of the rule of law, the deeply entrenched cultures of police corruption and impunity and the helplessness of the Sri Lankan people in their daily lives.
On October 30, 2005, Mr. Kumara was driving his bus bearing no. 62-7087 from Colombo to Elpitiya when, at about 2 p.m., he was stopped near the Odeon Cinema in Mt. Lavinia by a policeman riding a motorbike. The policeman (identified as no. 31874) requested Mr. Kumara's driver's licence and told him that he was charging him with dangerous driving and failing to drive on the left-hand side of the road.
Mr. Kumara reportedly attempted to explain to the policeman that he had to drive on the right side of the road because there was a bus parked at the bus stop. However, the policeman only shouted at him, using degrading language and even threatened to assault him. He then demanded all the documents pertaining to the vehicle and confiscated Mr. Kumara's driver's licence, but failed to issue Mr. Kumara with a temporary licence, as is required by law.
Mr. Kumara then proceeded to the Mt Lavinia police station. Policeman No 31874 was present there, and he pushed Mr. Kumara towards the traffic unit and continued to abuse him verbally. He reportedly told the policemen at the traffic unit various falsehoods about Mr. Kumara and, as a result, those policemen also began questioning and harassing him. The policemen also threatened him for not 'behaving in a proper manner' within the police station. Policeman No 31874 allegedly told the others that members of the police were charged bus fares when they travelled in Mr. Kumara's bus, so they should charge him with the maximum offences possible. He was further harassed inside the station and thereafter told to attend court on the following day at 9.00 a.m.
Mr. Kumara also says that the police forced him and his assistant to sign two pages the content of which were not shown nor read out to them. The next day he attended court as required and pleaded innocent to all the charges against him. The case was postponed to January 2, 2006 and he was released on Rs. 5000 bail. Furthermore, because the police did not give him a temporary licence, he had to retain a lawyer to obtain his licence back from the courts. Following a special application to court, his lawyer has been able to get his licence back and Mr. Kumara has been able to return to work.
Subsequently, Mr. Kumara was found not guilty of three of the five charges filed against him. He was found guilty of 'not driving on left side of road' and 'not adhering to police orders'. He has since launched an appeal against these convictions, but to date there has been no progress concerning the appeal. Fabricated charges, such as 'not adhering to police orders,' are used by the police to subjugate citizens and to perpetuate the climate of fear that enables the day to day corruption that pervades the Sri Lankan system.
It is alleged that the main reason that prompted policeman No 31874 and then other policemen to harass and threaten Mr. Kumara is the fact that members of the police in Sri Lanka normally expect a free ride on public buses. They also demand free meals and goods from shops and restaurants. Anyone who refuses them risks being harassed and having fabricated charges filed against them. Mr. Kumara reportedly does not give policemen free rides on his bus, and he feels that he was stopped by policeman No 31874 because of this fact, notably due to the fact that he was in addition arbitrarily insulted and threatened with assault.
I urge you to immediately intervene to ensure that the actions of policeman No 31874 are the subject of an impartial and independent investigation. Mr. Kumara's appeal must be processed in court in a reasonable time frame and, if the police are found to have acted in violation of his rights, he should be awarded adequate compensation. If the police are found to have forced him to sign documents without revealing their content or fabricated charges against him, they should be made accountable. More generally, I urge you to ensure that immediate measures are taken to halt the widespread corruption of the police force in Sri Lanka. The police's conduct should be monitored by an independent body to ensure that the every-day practices of corruption, such as demands for free products and the filing of fabricated charges, are systematically punished and eradicated from policing in Sri Lanka.
I trust that you will take immediate action in this case.
Yours sincerely,
----------------------------
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. His Excellency the Hon. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657
Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk
2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
3. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
Email: chandralaw@police.lk
4. Secretary
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
5. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
