SRI LANKA: Torture by the police; Invitation to participate in anti-torture campaign in Sri Lanka
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On the occasion of the issue of a special report on torture in Sri Lanka by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), we are issuing this urgent appeal to urge you to bring pressure on the Sri Lankan government to act decisively to stop the widespread practice of torture in the country.
The report provides cases of torture related to criminal investigations into normal criminal offences, thus pointing to a serious problem in the criminal justice system. Thus, the report examines problems which go far beyond the scope of the peace negotiations and exposes a problem that may have a very significant impact on progress toward achieving sustainable peace in the country. This special report which, while reporting on specific cases, also analyses the systemic causes and makes recommendations for change that may also be an example for other countries beset with the same problem of how to deal with the issue.
Suggested actions are given below.
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ALRC RELEASES SPECIAL REPORT: TORTURE BY THE POLICE IN SRI LANKA
Because of the widespread use of torture in Sri Lanka, a practice that has become a routine part of the criminal investigation procedure in the country and accepted by the police as “normal” but resented by the people, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), is devoting the next issue of its bimonthly publication article 2 to a report about this important concern.
The report will contain details of more than 30 torture cases that have occurred in Sri Lanka in the past four or five months and recommendations to end this habitual use of violence by those who are entrusted to uphold the law and protect the people of the country. The release of the report is timely in the context of the peace talks that have commenced between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sustainable peace requires restoration of law and order in all of the country.
We are writing to inform you about the release of this report and to invite your participation in a global campaign against torture in general and in Sri Lanka in particular. We are sending you a press statement announcing the release of the report and a copy of article 2 in the pdf format. We’ll also be sending you a printed copy of article 2. The publication is also be available online at <http://www.article2.org/index.php>.
PRESS RELEASE
The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has announced the release of a special report, ‘Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka,’ under the auspices of its bimonthly publication article 2 (vol. 1, no. 4), in Hong Kong today, Thursday Oct. 3, 2002.
‘Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka’ is the first serious attempt at recording and analysing the routine use of torture by the Sri Lanka police in day-to-day criminal investigations. It examines how a culture of barbarity has permeated policing at all levels throughout the entire country. Although in 1994 Sri Lanka made torture by a state officer a serious offence punishable by not less than a seven-year sentence, to date, no one is known to have been charged under this legislation.
The report includes 22 detailed case studies of torture by the Sri Lankan police. It refers to a total of 31 separate incidents of torture involving 39 victims. The report also includes a commentary on the police crisis by the executive director of ALRC, Mr. Basil Fernando; two letters on torture in police stations by ALRC¡¯s sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), to the Sri Lankan minister of interior; the full text of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994; and detailed recommendations to address the crisis.
Among the key recommendations of the report are that the government of Sri Lanka must strictly prosecute all cases of torture perpetrated by state officers and establish a special unit for immediate and adequate compensation of torture victims. It also contains extensive recommendations to the attorney general, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Sri Lankan lawyers and doctors and civil groups. UN agencies and international donor organisations have likewise been called upon to insist on measures by the government of Sri Lanka to eliminate torture and support genuine efforts to this end.
SUGGESTED ACTIONS
– Please send your appeals to the Prime Minister, Attorney General of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Embassy in your place.
– Please deliver a copy of the report and press release to the Sri Lankan embassy or consulate in your community on Oct. 3, 2002, when the report will be officially released, and let the Sri Lankan government know of your concern regarding the prevalent practices of torture.
– Please distribute copies of the report and press release to the media in your area, and take a personal interest by contacting the press and in creating public interest on this issue through holding, for instance, a press conference to announce the release of the report and to make your own press statements.
– Please send your organisation’s comment or small statement on the report to AHRC or ALRC.
We appreciate very much any action you are able to take to support the dissemination of this report to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to respond. Kindly keep us informed of any action you may take.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact AHRC.
SUGGESTED APPEAL
Dear
Re: Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka
I am aware of the routine practice of torture in police stations in Sri Lanka due to many reports I have read. The latest report by the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) gives me shocking details of very cruel forms of torture.
I am writing to express my concern about the use of these primitive and barbaric practices, especially by police officers who are supposed to uphold the law and protect people’s rights, not abuse them. Since there is a law to treat torture as a serious crime in Sri Lanka, it is possible to eliminate torture if the law is enforced. The continuity of torture shows that the law is not being enforced, however.
I urge you to take effective measures to eliminate torture in Sri Lanka by ensuring proper enforcement of the law against torture, Act. 22 of 1994.
I look forward to learning about your prompt action to this matter.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEAL TO;
1. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place
Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: 941 682905 or 542919 (Secretary to the PM)
Email: secpm@sltnet.lk (Secretary to the PM) or bradmanw@slt.lk
SALUTATION: Hon. Prime Minister
2. Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney – General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +941 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
SALUTATION: Dear Attorney General
