SRI LANKA: Kalutara South police tortured a man in order to fabricate charges

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the prolonged and brutally torture of a man by the Kalutara South police, Sri Lanka on 14 October 2007. The police took him to the police station where started assaulting with a wooden baton, suffocating him by slamming water from a hosepipe onto his face, trying a bag filed with petrol over his face and applying balm on his wounds, penis and anus. While torturing the victim, they demanded him to confess to possessing arms, which he strongly denied.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on the victim’s testimony)

On 14 October 2007 about 12:30pm M.I. Fausil Ameen (27) and another man named Gratian were riding a motorcycle when they were stopped for a traffic offence by about 8 policemen also on motorbikes. The policemen searched them and had allegedly discovered a gold chain in Gratian’s trouser pocket. The two were then taken to the Kalutara South police station where Sub Inspector (SI) Tennakoon of the Traffic Branch interrogated them and recorded their statement. Thereafter the victim was locked in a police holding cell.

According to Mr. Ameen, around 9pm that day Officer in Charge (OIC) Udayanga ordered a policeman named Palitha to escort him to the OIC’s office. Then OIC Udayanga instructed him to remove his clothes and accordingly he had removed his vest and T-shirt. OIC Udayanga then took a baton pole about 1 ½ feet in length and brutally assaulted the victim several times on his back and neck – pulling the victim head down in front – before each blow. Due to the severity of the assault, the victim says he fell down several times. But each time, the OIC forced him to stand up and continued the assault. After some time, the victim felt faintish and lost count of how many times he was assaulted. Eventually the victim had been dragged back to the holding cell by policeman Palitha who told him to put on his clothes.

But his ordeal was not over. According to the victim, around midnight another policeman visited his cell. The victim was handcuffed and taken down a flight of steps to what looked like a bathing room. Again, OIC Udayanga was present this time accompanied by 5 other policemen. OIC Udayanga removed the victim’s handcuffs, forced him to strip completely naked and lay face upwards, on a bench. Taking rope, he then tied the victim’s body to the bench and cuffed his feet together. On OIC Udayanga’s instructions one policeman fixed a hosepipe to a water tap. The OIC then tied the victim’s face and head with his vest and slammed water from the hosepipe onto his face. The victim struggled desperately as he found himself suffocating under the water pressure on his face, nose and mouth. Soon he lost consciousness.

This treatment continued each time he regained consciousness. After a while OIC Udayanga had removed the clothing covering the victim’s face and head and inserted the hosepipe into his mouth. Another policeman tightened the victim’s lips around the hose while the water tap was opened – choking the victim and making blood and phlegm spurt out of his nose and mouth. Once again the victim became unconscious. This time when he regained consciousness, he was kicked and assaulted all over his body by the policemen around him. The police proceeded to yet another stage of torture by filling a shopping bag with petrol and tying it around the victim’s head. Again the victim fell unconscious and when he awoke they struck him many times with a cane. Finally the victim was untied and told to wear his clothes. He was handcuffed and dragged out of the police station from the rear exit. The victim also says that throughout his torture, the police continuously demand he confess to possessing weapons – he did not have.

Outside the station, the victim says he was thrown into a police jeep and driven to a lonely place. He was told to kneel down on the ground and a pistol-like object was forced into his hands. The police then told him to run. But the victim resisted – partly because he was unable to and partly because he was suspicious of the policemen’s motives. So they took him to the Kalutara Bridge and told to jump into the river below. Again, the victim had refused. Finally, the police had taken him back to the police station and he was locked up. According to the victim, he was quite disoriented by then and is unable to say exactly what time all these events took place.

Next morning, October 15, the victim says he was again taken to the bathroom and forced to re-live the terrible ordeal of the previous day. That is, he had been once again stripped and tied to the bench with his feet cuffed. Again his head and face was tied and water from the hose was splashed on his face – choking and suffocating him. Again a shopping bag filled with petrol was tied around his head and face and he fell unconscious. When he regained consciousness, he had been untied from the bench but his hands were still cuffed. This time however the policemen applied ‘Siddhalepa’ ointment (a strong balm similar to Chinese Tiger balm) on his wounds as well as his penis and anus. The water hose was once again focused in full force on his body. The pain caused by the ointment and water pressure was unbearable and he had screamed in agony.

Finally after what seemed a never-ending nightmare, his handcuffs were removed and he was told to put his trousers on. But even while he dressed, he was continuously hit and kicked. Again the victim became disoriented and is unable to tell at what time or for how long the torture continued. But he says this time; about 6 policemen were involved.

The police took the victim to the Crimes Branch office, forced him to sit on the floor and handcuffed him to a table leg. From time to time, OIC Udayanga kicked him. One time, according to the victim, OIC Udayanga brought petrol in a bottle and threw it into his face. His fingerprints were taken and he was then produced in court about 2:30pm. Luckily, his family members had managed to retain a lawyer to appear on his behalf and he was released on bail. However not a word about the terrible torture inflicted on his person was mentioned in court. That same evening the victim visited the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital and was admitted to the accident service ward. On October 17, he was transferred to Ward 26 of the same hospital and continued to receive medical treatment for the many injuries he had sustained. (For the torture marks on his body, please see the photo 1, photo 2, photo 3, photo 4, photo 5, photo 6 and photo 7)

Despite his physical and mental injuries caused by the police torture, the victim has already complained in writing to all the relevant authorities including the Chairman, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Chairman National Police Commission (NPC), Inspector General of Police (IGP), Deputy Inspector General (DIG-Legal branch) and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kalutara. The victim has urged these authorities to immediately investigate and inquire into the incident and take appropriate disciplinary and legal action against OIC Udayanga and the other policemen of the Kalutara South Police Station for the enormous pain and suffering caused to him and for the breach of his fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to take immediate legal and disciplinary action against the alleged perpetrators, who allegedly severely and brutally subjected the victim to the most hideous and degrading forms of torture and thereby caused his serious injuries. Please also urge them to ensure that he is paid appropriate compensation for injuries caused and also for the violation of his fundamental rights.

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