Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received reliable information regarding the extrajudicial killing of five youths at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town on 4 November 2007 in Sri Lanka. According to witness accounts, the youths had been taken into custody by Army personnel from the Veppankulam Army Camp. The bullet-riddled corpses were found dumped on the roadside a kilometre away from the camp the following day. After visiting the scene, the Vavuniya magistrate instructed the officer in command of the camp to make a police statement and to appear in court. He also ordered the Senior Superintendent of Police in Vavuniya to conduct speedy investigations and apprehend the perpetrators.
CASE DETAILS:
On 4 November 2007, five dead bodies with gun shot injuries were found on the roadside at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town in Sri Lanka. Four of the corpses were later identified as those of Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), and Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19). The fifth body has not yet been identified.
According to witnesses, on 3 November 2007, the youths had been arrested by Army personnel and taken to the Veppankulam Army Camp around 10 am. On learning of this, their parents visited the Army Camp around noon and made inquiries. However, the camp authorities denied arresting them. As the information received had been reliable, the parents remained near the camp and kept vigil the whole day. According to them, around 10 pm they saw a white coloured van leaving the camp. About 20 minutes later they heard the sound of gunshots from the direction of Thavasikkulam. In the morning the bullet-riddled bodies of the five youths were found at Thavasikkulam — about one kilometre from the Army camp.
Next day, after receiving information about the incident, the Vavuniya Magistrate and Additional District Judge M. Ilanchelian visited the place where the bodies were found. Relatives of the dead youths told him of what had transpired. The magistrate directed the officer in command of the Veppankulam Army Camp to make a statement to the Vavuniya Police Station and thereafter appear before the Magistrate’s Court of Vavuniya the next day, 5 November. The Magistrate also directed the 21-1 Brigade Commander Col. Dhammika Jayasinghe, who is the overall commanding officer of Vavuniya town including the Veppankulam camp, and the Vavuniya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sisira Mendis to investigate personnel of the camp and arrest the suspects — as witness accounts of the incident pointed to the role of the Army. In a sternly worded order, the Magistrate also said the law did not permit extrajudicial killings and that it was imperative that investigations be conducted and the suspects arrested and produced in court.
The Magistrate also ordered that the van allegedly used in the incident be seized. Although the registration number of the van was provided by the relatives, sources said that the chances of finding it were slim as it was widely known that vehicles used to conduct extrajudicial arrests and killings carried false number plates.
In the recent past, Vavuniya has been notorious for abductions for ransom of wealthy businessmen and other prominent people. Moreover, the officer commanding the Veppankulam Army camp had been hauled up before the Court at least twice before, allegedly implicated in extrajudicial killings but was not charged in Court due to lack of evidence. The Sri Lankan police also failed to investigate and apprehend the suspects in any of the numerous killings in the past few years. Further, the Attorney General’s Department has failed miserably to prosecute alleged offenders even in the rare instances when members of the armed forces have been taken into custody.
In a case of murder of five students of the College of Agriculture in Vavuniya last year, the Attorney General had consented to the case being transferred to a court in Anuradhapupura, much to the chagrin of the witnesses and aggrieved parties in Vavuniya. People in the area fear the latest case too might suffer a similar fate at the hands of the willful authorities. Meanwhile the Defence Ministry in its website has already apportioned blame for the latest killings on members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, urging them to conduct immediate and thorough investigation into these shocking incidents of extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice.
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SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killing of five youth in Vavuniya
Name of the victims: Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19), and another not yet identified
Alleged perpetrators: Army officials attached to the Veppankulam Army Camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
Date of incident: 3 November 2007
Place where corpses were found: On the roadside at Thavasikkulam – 1km from the Veppankulam Army Camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka
I am appalled to learn of yet another shocking incident of extrajudicial killing – that of five young men from Vavuniya in Sri Lanka. It is disappointing that even before investigating the incident, the authorities are already blaming it on the LTTE despite witness accounts to the contrary.
I have received information that on 4 November 2007, five dead bodies with gun shot injuries were found on the roadside at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town in Sri Lanka. Four of the corpses were later identified as those of Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), and Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19). The fifth body has not yet been identified.
I am informed that according to witnesses, on 3 November 2007, the youths were arrested by Army personnel and taken to the Veppankulam Army Camp around 10 am. But when their parents visited the camp around noon and asked about their sons, the camp authorities denied arresting them. But the parents remained near the camp and kept vigil the whole day. According to them, around 10 pm they saw a white van leaving the camp and 20 minutes later heard the sound of gunshots from the direction of Thavasikkulam. Next morning, the bullet-riddled bodies of the five youths were found at Thavasikkulam, about a kilometre from the Army camp.
I am also informed that thereafter the Vavuniya Magistrate and Additional District Judge M. Ilanchelian visited the place where the bodies were found and that the parents informed him of what had transpired. The Magistrate directed the officer in command of the Veppankulam Army Camp to make a statement to the Vavuniya Police Station and thereafter appear before the Magistrate’s Court of Vavuniya the next day. The Magistrate had also directed the Vavuniya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sisira Mendis to arrest the suspects. In a sternly worded order, the Magistrate also said the law did not permit extrajudicial killings and it was imperative that investigations are conducted and the suspects arrested and produced in court.
According to information received, the Magistrate also ordered the van used in the incident to be taken into custody. But relatives remained skeptical because though they had given the vehicle registration number, it is well known that vehicles used in extrajudicial arrests and killings carried false number plates.
I am informed that in the recent past Vavuniya has been plagued by abductions for ransom and extrajudicial killings. However the police have failed to investigate and apprehend the suspects in any of the incidents. Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Department too has failed miserably to prosecute alleged offenders even in the rare event that members of the armed forces are taken into custody. The absence of credible investigations and prosecutions will only encourage more shocking incidents.
I therefore urge you to ensure that prompt and thorough investigations are conducted into these incidents of extrajudicial killings. The victims’ families and witnesses must be included in the process of investigation and must be afforded witness protection. Those involved must be suspended from their posts and indicted expeditiously. Appropriate compensation must also be afforded to the victims’ families without delay.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
2. Mr. Sisira Mendis
Senior Superintendent of Police
Vavuniya police station
Vavuniya Division
Tel: +94 24 222 2228
Fax: +94 25 222 2223
3. Mr. C.R. De Silva
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
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. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
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
6. Professor Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
