Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the completely improper and biased police inquiry into the torture case of 19-year-old Dhanuka Tisara, who was brutally tortured by the Kalutara South police on 2 July 2006 (See further: UA-241-2006). The victim and his family say that they do not expect any justice in his case after experiencing the sham that has come to be known as a ‘a police inquiry’.
On 2 July.2006, Dhanuka Tisara was arbitrarily arrested by the Kalutara South Police, taken to the police station on the accusation of committing murder without any evidence to support this. He was then brutally tortured by the police who tried to extract a confession. He was later released on the same day without charges being filed against him.
After he submitted to his written complaints regarding his case to Inspector General of Police (IGP) and police department, Dhanuka Tisara received a notice to appear before the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Horana by 10:00am on 27 October 2006 for an inquiry into the complaint. On that day, he went to the ASP’s office along with his mother Malini Soysa in time but they were made to wait for 1 ½ hours.
At about 11:30am, a policeman began recording the statements of Mr. Tisara and his mother. But according to the victim’s mother, the policeman, instead of inquiring into the details of the victim’s brutal torture, asked questions, which were totally irrelevant and in fact degrading to them. These questions include (i) details of Ms. Soysas parents and her children, (ii) where she gave birth to Mr. Tisara, (iii) whether she was legally married at the time of his birth, etc.
The policeman had also perused a document written in English (that is considered to be from the AHRC) and commented, so you are taking legal action with the help of some Asian organisation (presumably the AHRC). He also commented, those from Pinwatte commit wrong and then run for human rights heh? Tisara alleges that he also referred to the other children in the family in a disparaging manner. At the same time, the policeman recorded few details of the actual incident and asked them to leave.
The victim and his mother had a strong impression that the inquiry was conducted in a biased and improper manner in favour of the alleged perpetrators. They say that if a police inquiry is not held in a proper and professional manner, they will refuse to attend any of future inquiries because there is no point in doing so.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant Sri Lankan authorities listed below and urge them to ensure that a proper and competent police inquiry is held in a proper, impartial and professional manner into the victim’s case. Please also urge them to take disciplinary and legal action against the alleged perpetrators without further delay.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
SRI LANKA: Completely improper and biased manner of police inquiry into a torture case
Names of the victim: Dhanuka Tisara, aged 19, unmarried, labourer by occupation, resides in Pinwatte, Panadura, Sri Lanka (Mother: Malini Soysa)
Alleged perpetrators: Policemen attached to the Kalutara South police station
Date of incident: 2 July 2006
Place of incident: Kalutara South police station
I am extremely disappointed to learn about the completely improper and biased police inquiry into the torture case of 19-year-old Dhanuka Tisara, who is the victim of a brutal torture committed by the Kalutara South police on 2 July 2006. He was accused by the police committing murder without any evidence but later released on the same day without charges filed against him.
According to the information I have received, the victim went to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Horana along with his mother on 27 October 2006 after receiving a notice to appear before the ASP’s office by 10:00am on that day for an inquiry into his earlier written complaint to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and police department.
However, when they arrived in the ASP’s office, they were made to wait for 1 ½ hours there. Furthermore, I was informed that the manner of the inquiry by the policeman was completely biased and improper. According to the victim’s mother, the policeman, instead of inquiring into the details of the victim’s brutal torture, asked irrelevant questions instead, for example (i) details of the victim’s mother’s parents and her children, (ii) where she gave birth to Mr. Tisara, (iii) whether she was legally married at the time of his birth, etc.
The victim’s mother also alleged that the policeman also perused a document written in English and commented, so you are taking legal action with the help of some Asian organisation” and those from Pinwatte commit wrong and then run for human rights heh? But the policeman recorded few details of the actual incident and asked them to leave.
I am very concerned to received the information that the victim and his mother will refused to attend future inquiries if it is not held in a proper and professional manner, because there is no point in doing so.
I therefore strongly urge you to ensure that the police inquiry into this case is conducted in a proper and professional manner and the victim and his family members are treated with dignity and respect by the inquiring officers. I also urge you to take immediate disciplinary and legal action against the alleged torture perpetrators without further delay.
Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General’s Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net
2. Mr. Victor Perera
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk
3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk
4. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Safir Syed
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR TORTURE)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
