UPDATE (Sri Lanka): False case filed against a torture victim by the Wanduramba police 

[RE: UA-247-2006: SRI LANKA: Man brutally tortured by the Wanduramba Police Station requires months of hospitalisation and UP-146-2006: SRI LANKA: Update on torture victim Mr. Premalal]
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SRI LANKA: Torture; Fabrication of charges; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) earlier reported on the case of a man who was brutally tortured by an officer of the Wanduramba Police Station, Galle District 2, Galle Division, Sri Lanka, on 11 July 2006.  The victim, Hevamarambage Premalal (32) who is married with three children, suffered serious injuries including kidney damage that requires dialysis.  He also suffered 14 other injuries which were caused by an assault with a blunt instrument.  The victim is still undergoing treatment (See further: UA-247-2006 and UP-146-2006).

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) has informed the AHRC that Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police (Range 2) has been directed to make inquiries into this case through his Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and to submit his report to the IGP.

However, while these inquiries are going on the AHRC has learned that a case has been filed against the victim by the Officer-in-Charge of the Wanduramba Police Station before the Magistrate’s Court, Galle. The report states that the victim’s brutal torture was a consequence of his resisting arrest and attempted escape from police custody.

The filing of the fabricated charges against torture victims is a common practice in Sri Lanka concerning which the AHRC has reported on many occasions.  For example, the case of Thissa Kumara, who was severely beaten and forcibly spat upon by a tuberculosis patient, involved a fraudulent police report stating that he was found to be carrying a hand grenade and that it was necessary to assault the victim in order to subdue him.  Another example is the case of Lalith Rajapakse, who was arrested without reason and fell unconscious for a long period of time due to an assault by the police. A charge was later filed that stated that he tried to attack the police officers with a knife.  In yet another case, Rohitha Upali Liyanage and his brother-in-law Sarath Bandara Ekanayake were assaulted by the Wattegama police when they objected to the officers taking their motorcycle.  Rohitha suffered fractures to his leg and the police filed a report stating that the injuries to the victims were a result of them trying to attack the police.

Mr. Premalal, who is now undergoing kidney dialysis treatment and is unable to engage in any kind of work, must now also fight these fabricated charges filed by the Wanduramba Police.  If the court believes the police version, he may even be imprisoned for several years.

The AHRC calls upon you to write to the Sri Lankan authorities in order to urge them to investigate the fabrication of charges in addition to the original complaint of torture.

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