SRI LANKA: A woman assaulted by the Baduraliya Police only because she reported the police’s illegal business

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by the illegal arrest and assault of Mrs. M. Piyawathi by the Baduraliya Police on 31 May 2004. After the arrest, she was taken into police custody along with her 22-year-old daughter and 16-year-old son. Later, the Baduraliya Police charged her and her two children of obstructing police duty and Mrs. M. Piyawathi was remanded for 10 days but her two children were released on bail.

According to the victim, the reason of her arrest is that she had made an oral complaint to the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the Baduraliya Police Station about a large scale illicit manufacturing of Kasippu [illicit liquor] which the police was involved in. This case clearly shows that the police harassed Mrs. M. Piyawathi and her two children abusing their position only because she had reported their illegal activity. The victim is now afraid of further harassment by the police against her and her family.

AHRC calls for you to intervene in this matter immediately and demand local authorities to conduct a proper and immediate inquiry into this matter and punish the responsible officers. Please also request them to withdraw the charges against Mrs. M. Piyawathi and her two children.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of victims: 1) Mrs. M. Piyawathi (48), married with 8 children, husband paralyzed;
Rubber tapper 2) D. Deepika Kumari (22), Mrs. M. Piyawathi’s daughter 3) D. Kumudu Priyantha (16), a student and son of Mrs. M. Piyawathi
Address of victims: 611, Kapugedera, Molkawa
Alleged perpetrators: 1) Officer In Charge (OIC) of the Baduraliya Police Station 2) Several officers attached to the Baduraliya Police Station (the victim can identify the officers on seeing them again)
Date of incident: 31 May 2004

Case details: 

On 31 May 2004, three men in plain clothes came to Mrs. M. Piyawathi’s house and asked her for a bottle of Kasippu [illicit liquor]. When she replied that she had no Kasippu, the three men started to assault her by slapping hard on her face and hitting hard on her hands. They also kicked on her chest. Then they searched her house and took Rs. 13,720 (about US$ 137) and a gold ring. Later, Mrs. M. Piyawathi knew that the three men were from the Baduraliya Police Station. After that, the police (three men) took her and her son and daughter into custody at Baduraliya Police Station. At the police station, the police took Mrs. M. Piyawathi to a private dispensary in the Baduraliya Police area where a government doctor was working. She told him that the police assaulted her.

Later, the Baduraliya Police charged her and her two children of obstructing police duty and produced them before the Matugama Magistrate Courts. The magistrate ordered Mrs. M. Piyawathi to be remanded for 10 days but her two children to be released on bail. She reported that while she was in remand prison, a doctor examined her and gave her treatment for the contusions she got due to the police assault.

According to Mrs. M. Piyawathi, the reason of harassment against her by the Baduraliya police is that she had made an oral complaint to the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the Baduraliya Police Station about the illicit manufacturing of Kasippu which the police were involved in. She had reported to the OIC that a woman police constable from Baduraliya police and a male police constable from Ingiriya police have been engaged in the illegal manufacturing of Kasippu in a very large scale with the help of their relatives in Baduraliya police area. She admitted that she had also sold Kasippu for about four months but stopped doing it about four months before this incident.

After she was released on bail from prison, Mrs. M. Piyawathi lodged a complaint about the incident to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and National Police Commission (NPC) demanding them to take immediate legal and disciplinary action against the OIC and officers of the Baduraliya Police Station, who are responsible for the incident.

In the past the AHRC has reported several cases in which former illicit liquor sellers, who gave up such businesses, were punished by police officers. Illicit liquor business often is of benefit to the police officers, as such business can only be carried out by paying bribes to the police. When the sellers of liquor give up their business, some police officers lose a source of extra income. Also, in several occasions, the police are involved in such business directly.

It is clear that the police put Mrs. M. Piyawathi and her two children in trouble using their position illegally only because she had reported their illegal business activity. Therefore, AHRC urges the local authorities to conduct a proper inquiry into this matter and punish the responsible officers. The charges against Mrs. M. Piyawathi and her two children should be withdrawn, too.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax and an email to the addresses below and express your concern about this serious case.

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