Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you about the alleged brutal torture of a 50 year-old farmer by allegedly intoxicated Kekirawa police officers on 24 August 2006, demonstrating yet another example of the complete and total breakdown of Sri Lanka’s policing system.
At around 11:00am on August 24, Suddage Sirisena was leaving a meeting at his village’s Buddhist temple in Millewa, Maradankadawela, Sri Lanka, when two police officers on motorcycles signaled for him to approach them at the gate. The officers were in uniform and had Mr. Sirisena’s son Piyasiri with them who had originally pointed his father out to the police.
As soon as Mr. Sirisena approached the policemen, he was immediately assaulted by the officer wearing badge number 47934. He was struck on his ears and was then forced to lay his head on the ground while the policeman punched him on the back of his neck. The policeman then viciously kicked Mr. Sirisena before ordering him to get onto one of the motorcycles. When Mr. Sirisena refused to comply with the order, one of the officers grabbed his helmet which was dangling the motorbikes handles and smashed into his face so hard that he lost consciousness.
Mr. Sirisena awoke and found himself under a tree lying in a pool of his own blood beneath a crowd of onlookers. He felt dazed and was unable to comprehend what had befallen him. A relative and his neighbor then helped take him to a local hospital where he told the doctors that he had been assaulted by the police. However, the village hospital was apparently not equipped to treat his injuries and refused to ward him. He then was rushed to the Kekirawa hospital where he was admitted to Ward 1 and he once again gave the details of what had happened to him to the doctors.
Mr. Sirisena says that as a result of the assault he suffered two dislodged front teeth. Three other teeth were loosened and had to be extracted at the hospital. On August 28, Suddage was discharged from the hospital after being cleared by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).
Mr. Sirisena also mentioned that on the August 25, six policemen from the Kekirawa police station visited him to record his statement. However, Mr. Sirisena felt that the questioning was meant to intimidate him rather than to obtain information about the incident. It is also obvious that the Kekirawa police cannot conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident against their fellow officers.
Since Mr. Sirisena was discharged from hospital, he alleges that he had been constantly harassed by various policemen attached to the Kekirawa police, including the perpetrator who has tried to amicably settle the matter. He says that the perpetrator now begs him not to pursue the issue in consideration for the welfare of the policeman’s family. He also says that on August 26, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Anuradhapura visited the scene of the incident and record statements of witnesses.
Mr. Sirisena is still not aware of why he was so brutally assaulted by the Kekirawa police but suspects that his son who is a suspected illicit liquor trader in the area, as well as an army deserter and who has a personal animosity with him induced the police to beat him.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Sri Lankan government authorities listed below and express your concern about this case. Please urge them to take immediate legal action against the police officer (Badge #47934) and to provide the victim adequate compensation.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ____________,
Sri Lanka: Brutal torture of a 50-year-old man by the Kekirawa police
Name of the victim: Mr. Suddage Sirisena, aged 50, married with two children. Farmer by occupation, residing in Millewa, Maradankadawela, Sri Lanka
Alleged perpetrator: Officers attached to the Kekirawa police including policeman No. 47934 (prime culprit)
Date of incident: 24 August 2006
I am writing to voice my total condemnation over the alleged violent torture of a 50 year-old farmer by an intoxicated police officer from the Kekirawa police station on 24 August 2006.
I have received information that around 11:00am, local farmer Mr. Suddage Sirisena was leaving a meeting at his village's Buddhist temple in Millewa, Maradankadawela, when two police officers on motorcycles signaled for him to approach them at the gate. The officers were in uniform and were accompanied by Mr. Sirisena's son Piyasiri who had originally pointed his father out to the police.
As soon as Mr. Sirisena approached the policemen he was immediately assaulted by the officer with badge number 47934. He was struck on his ears and was then forced to lay his head on the ground while the policeman punched him on the back of his neck. The policeman also grabbed his dangling helmet from the motorbikes handles and smashed into his face so hard that he lost all consciousness.
Mr. Sirisena awoke a while later under a tree lying in a pool of his own blood. He was beaten so badly that he felt dazed and was unable to comprehend what had befallen him. Thanks to a relative and his neighbor, he was taken to the local hospital. However, as the village hospital was apparently not equipped to treat his injuries, he was taken to the Kekirawa hospital where he was admitted to Ward 1. The assault on Mr. Sirisena resulted in him suffering two dislodged front teeth, while three other teeth were loosened and had to be extracted at the hospital. On August 28, Suddage was discharged from the hospital after being cleared by the Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).
Meanwhile, I am deeply concerned the fact that on August 25, Mr. Sirisena was approached by six policemen from the Kekirawa police station who wished to record his statement. However, according to the victim, the questioning was meant to intimidate him rather than to obtain information about the incident. I am also wondering why the Kekirawa police, where the perpetrator belongs to, were assigned to investigate this case as they obviously cannot conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident against their fellow officer.
Subsequently, Mr. Sirisena reported that he has been constantly harassed by various policemen attached to the Kekirawa police, including the perpetrator who has tried to amicably settle the matter. He says that the perpetrator now begs him not to pursue the issue in consideration for the welfare of the policeman's family. He also says that on August 26, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Anuradhapura visited the scene of the incident and record statements of witnesses. However, till date no serious action has been taken to investigate the incident and arrest the responsible officer.
It also upsets me to hear that Mr. Sirisena is still not aware of why he was so brutally assaulted by the Kekirawa police. Although, he suspects that his son who is a suspected illicit liquor trader in the area, as well as an Army deserter and who has a personal animosity with him had induced the police to beat him, it remains completely unacceptable that no legal action has been taken up against the perpetrator.
This is yet another example of how the legal system in Sri Lanka is completely and totally dysfunctional in that the police are able to torture and threaten innocent people without any consequence. I urge you to immediately take legal action against the police officer involved and provide adequate compensation for the victim. The investigation of this case should not be conducted by the Kekirawa police to ensure its impartiality. Please also inquire about the alleged harassment of the victim by the Kekirawa police and take proper disciplinary action against those responsible if it is proven true.
I trust that you will do your best to insure the security and dignity of this victim is restored.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
2. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
Email: chandralaw@police.lk
3. 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
4. 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
5. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 9179016 (general)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
