Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is deeply concerned by the illegal arrest and brutal torture of Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel by the Moratuwa Police on 1 June 2004. According to his mother, who met her son at the police station, the police severely tortured him and his right hand was broken due to this.
Even though he is in serious condition, the police have not provided any medical attention to the victim. He was transferred to the Dehiwala Police Station and is currently in police custody there. It is reported that the victim has not been produced before a magistrate even though the Sri Lankan Constitution states that the arrested should be produced in court within 48 hours of the arrest. Your urgent action is required to pressure the local authorities to provide immediate medical treatment to the victim.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:
Name of the victim: Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel, 21, married with one child, a fisherman
Address of the victim: 371, Muhudubada Road, Angulana, Moratuwa
Period of illegal arrest and detention: from 1 June 2004 till now
Case details: (Based on the victim’s mother)
At around 9:00 pm on 1 June 2004, the Moratuwa Police arrested Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel at Laxapathiya. The reason of his arrest is still unknown. When the victim’s mother, Ms. P. Kusumawathi Peiris, went to the Moratuwa Police Station to see her son on the next day (2 June 2004), Tharinda de Mel told her that the police brutally tortured him and his right hand was broken due to this. He added that he was unable to walk because of the police assault on the soles of his feet and showed her his injuries.
After that, the Officer in Charge of the Moratuwa Police Station told her to come back at 5:00 pm to take her son. However, when she went back to the station, she met the officer who had arrested her son and he chased her away scolding her badly. She waited until 9:45 pm outside the police station but Tharinda de Mel was not released or produced before a magistrate.
On 3 June 2004 she went to the Moratuwa Police Station again to see her son but he was not in the cell. The detainees in the cell informed her that the police took Tharinda de Mel from the cell. When she asked the police officer on duty about her son, he told her that he was taken to the Dehiwala Police Station as the officer who arrested him was from the Dehiwala Police Station. She then rushed to the Dehiwala Police Station, where at first the officers at the station told her that no such person was brought there. But she could see her son at the Dehiwala Police station, and he looked to be in a very serious condition due to the police assault.
AHRC is gravely concerned by the illegal arrest and brutal torture of Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel. We urge the Sri Lankan government to provide immediate medical attention to the victim and take legal action against the perpetrators.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Send a letter to the addresses below and express your concern of this case.
1. Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga
President
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo-1, Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 333 703
2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 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 11 2 669 128 / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
4. Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1,
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 381394/ 446174
5. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
National 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
6. 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
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear
Re: SRI LANKA: A torture victim in police custody needs urgent medical attention
Name of the victim: Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel, 21, married with one child, a fisherman
Address of the victim: 371, Muhudubada Road, Angulana, Moratuwa
Period of illegal arrest and detention: from 1 June 2004 till now
I am writing to bring to your urgent attention the illegal arrest and brutal torture of Vidanalage Dinesh Tharinda de Mel by the Moratuwa Police on 1 June 2004. According to his mother, the police severely tortured him and his right hand was broken due to this. Even though he is in serious condition, the police have not provided any medical attention to the victim and he is now in police custody at Dehiwala Police Station. When he was arrested by the police, the reason of arrest was not given to his family and the victim has not been produced before a magistrate even though the Sri Lankan Constitution states the arrested should be produced within 48 hours of the arrest.
In light of above, I strongly urge you to provide immediate medical attention to the victim and order an inquiry into this matter. I also urge you to suspend the service of the officer(s) responsible and take legal action against them. Also compensation should be provided to the victim. Lastly, I again urge the government of Sri Lanka to take genuine steps to eliminate torture practices by the police and break the cycle of impunity.
Thank you for your attention.
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
