SRI LANKA: A man suffers from serious head injuries after being tortured by police officers

Dear friends

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a man named Kurupanawa Gamage Nihal suffered serious head injuries after the police officers of the Udugama Police Station severely tortured him. I urge you to take strong and immediate action to correct this matter.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

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Illegal arrest and torture causing serious head injuries

– Name of victim: Kurupanawa Gamage Nihal

– Address of victim: 198/1, Katagoda, Udugama

– Name of perpetrators: Officers from the Udugama Police Station

– Date of arrest and torture: 17 August 2003

DETAILED INFORMATION OF THE CASE:

Around 7:00 to 8:00pm on 17 August 2003, Kurupanawa Gamage Nihal was arrested by police officers with the Udugama Police Station near Kondalawatta road bridge while he was on the way to the lake for a bath. Six or seven people, wearing civilian clothes, came to him and they asked whether he was Nihal or not. Even before he answered, one with a pole that was later identified as a sub inspector Wijekoon immediately began to assault him. He beat Nihal severely untill the pole broke. As a result, he fell down to the ground. Then sub-inspector Wijekoon continued assaulting Nihal by kicking his legs, face, back and all over his body. The S.I Wijekoon also slapped Nihal’s cheeks until his left cheek began to bleed. Nihal also bled from his nose and face. The S.I Wijekoon also broke Nihal’s nose, giving it a permanent damage. The other officers accompanying S.I Wijekoon also assaulted the victim.

The victim’s brother Kurupanwa Gamage Jayathissa later arrived at the place and asked the police officers not to assault the victim pledging that his brother was innocent. However, S.I. Wijekoon and the other police officers did not stop assaulting the victim. The victim was bleeding from his head, so he used the towel which he brought for the bath for his head. He was bleeding profusely and felt severe pain on his head.

Kurupanawa Gamage Nihal was taken to the Udugama Police Station. At the police station he bled a lot and was taken to the Udugama District Hospital. Three police officers accompanied him. A doctor who examined the victim advised that he should be hospitalized immediately. The victim was admitted to the hospital and two police officers remained as guards. When the victim was in the hospital, a police officer and the S.I Wijekoon from the Udugama Police Station forced him to put his thumb print on a bottle and also forced him to sign some documents. They did not explain to the victim what the documents were concerning. The victim said that in fact he was in a semi-conscious condition at that time and he thought that he was dying.

The next day two police officers, whose names are unknown (but the victim can identify his face), forced the victim to leave the hospital and brought him to the chamber of a magistrate. The magistrate ordered the victim to be detained for 14 days, but the victim did not even know the charges against him. When he was brought to the detention prison at Galle, the victim asked the prison officers to send him to the hospital for medical treatment. However, the prison officers ignored his complaints.

On 21 August 2003, the relatives of Nihal asked the court to bail him out, and they accepted. After making bail, the victim went to see the doctor at the district hospital of Udugama. The doctor who examined him told him that his condition was serious and that he should be hospitalized immediately. Then, the victim was admitted to the Teaching Hospital at Karapitiya where he went into surgery. Before the surgery, he received five X-ray examinations. He was discharged from the hospital on 27 August and the doctor advised him to take further treatment.

According to the medical report given by the judicial officer, doctor K.I. Premathilaka, the victim has the following injuries;

1. 3cm horizontal lacerated injury on the left side of the parietal region

3cm from the mid line and 11cm above the left ear

2. Bilateral black eye below the eyes

3. 6cm circular in swelling on the left parietal region

The victim’s mother, Nihal Uralagamage Yasawathie, has made a complaint to ASP of Udagama concerning what happened to her son.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the addresses below expressing your concern about this serious case.

1 Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 2 682905
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk

2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 1 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net

3. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 1 2 691 926
Fax HOME: +941 2 674148

4. National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 1 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 1 2 694 924
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

5. Mr. Theo C. van Boven
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917-9016
E-mail: secrt.hchr@unog.ch

and at:
International Relations
Maastricht University
The Netherlands
Tel: 31-43-3883233 (Assistant: Chantal Kuipers)
E-mail: th.vanboven@ir.unimaas.nl

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER