UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Police investigation of a severe torture case drags on with no transparency 

[RE: UA-141-2004: SRI LANKA: A man arbitrarily assaulted by the SI of the Horana Police Station without any reason, UP-051-2006: SRI LANKA: Justice continues to evade victim one and a half years after his assault and UP-165-2006: SRI LANKA: Authorities fail to prosecute perpetrator, while the HRC recommends derisory compensation]
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SRI LANKA: Undue delay in police investigation; no impartiality and transparency of the investigation; denial of justice; impunity
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received updated information concerning the fact that a torture victim is suffering from denial of justice due to the lack of an impartial police investigation into his case. As far as we have confirmed, the inquiry officer in this case is the person in charge of the police station where the victim had been tortured, and the prosecution officer is from the same division where the concerned police station is located. The police inquiry into this case has dragged on.  Two years have passed since the actual torture incident and the victim says that he has lost all hope of getting justice in this case due to this undue delay and the lack of transparency of the investigation.

Mr. Rathnasiri Senadheera was brutally tortured by Sub Inspector Saliya, the then Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the Horana police station, on 29 September 2004, while visiting his brother who was in police custody (See further: UA-141-2004). After the incident, he complained to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the National Police Commission (NPC) and Attorney General (AG) regarding his arbitrary arrest and torture by the said SI.

The HRC conducted an inquiry into the incident (inquiry no. HRC/5048/04/I(iv)) and on July 4, 2006, recommended that derisory compensation – Rs. 5000 (USD 50) – be provided by the respondent, SI Saliya, to the petitioner (the victim). A copy of HRC’s recommendation was sent to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the AG and the NPC for suitable disciplinary and legal action to be taken against the concerned SI. However, to date, no action has been taken by any of the aforementioned authorities and the alleged perpetrator continues to enjoy complete impunity (see further: UP-165-2006).

Meanwhile, the police inquiry into Mr. Senadheera’s case is being dragged on and on and has not been completed even though two years have passed since the actual incident (UP-051-2006). The victim suspects that the undue delay of the police inquiry is due to the biased behavior of the inquiry and prosecution officers of his case. He reported that the inquiry officer working on his case is the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in charge of supervising the Horana police station where he had been tortured, and the prosecution officer is the Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of the Panadura police station which is in the same division as that of the Horana police station. Considering the fact that the concerned SI was the former OIC of the Horana police station, it can be assumed that the inquiry and prosecution officers are colleagues of the alleged perpetrator.

For example, the AHRC was informed by Mr. Senadheera that on September 4, 2006 he received a letter (ref S 34/2006) requesting him, along with other witnesses, to attend a departmental inquiry conducted against the perpetrator by ASP Nagahamulla of Horana district. The inquiry was to be conducted at the Office of the Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) of Panadura division at 10:00am on 11 September 2006. However, when Mr. Senadheera together with three other witnesses went for the said inquiry at 10 am, ASP Nagahamulla was not in his office and they waited more than 12 hours until 11:15 pm. As the inquiry officer, ASP Nagahamulla had still not arrived at the office for the inquiry. Mr. Senadheera and the other witnesses then left the police station.

Mr. Senadheera says that he no longer maintains any faith in the police inquiry and wonders what justice can be expected under the current circumstances. He complained to the SSP of the Panadura division, the IGP and the NPC regarding the negligent attitudes of the inquiry officer and also raised his concerns about the impartiality of the police inquiry with them. However, he has not received any response from these authorities to date.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write a letter to the relevant officials listed below and urge them to take immediate action to ensure that the alleged perpetrator, SI Saliya of the Horana police, is made to pay adequate compensation to the victim, in line with international standards. The Human Rights Commission should re-evaluate its recommendation concerning the amount involved in this compensation and other cases to ensure that adequate standards of reparation are in place. Furthermore, the authorities must be urged to ensure that a criminal case is filed against SI Saliya in the Magistrate’s Court of Horana. The IGP and NPC must take immediate disciplinary action against SI Saliya as well as the police station’s Officer in Charge (OIC).

 

 

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