UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Further death threats to torture victim J.V. Saman Priyankara from Matale 

[Re: UP-74-2005: SRI LANKA: Torture victim Priyankara received death threats again and urgent witness protection is required; UP-37-2004: A Kandy coordinator of National Police Commission allegedly cooperates with torture perpetrators; UP-34-2004: Priyankara brutally assaulted and arrested with no access to lawyers; UP-33-2004: Torture victim severely beaten again, forcibly taken to the police station in critical condition and feared being killed by the police; URGENT INTERVENTION NEEDED to save a victim’s life; UA-07-2004: Torture by pouring boiling water on the victim’s genitals by the officers of the Matale Police Station ]

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by further death threats on torture victim Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara and his family on 6 July 2005. According to Priyankara’s wife, she received further phone calls threatening deaths from an unknown person saying, “People from Colombo will come and throw bombs at your house and will destroy your husband, yourself and the family.”

The AHRC strongly suggests that the threats were made from the office of the Police Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of Matale, which is in charge of providing protection to Priyankara and his family. Priyankara’s wife said that when she called the HQI office, she recognized the receiver’s voice as the same as that of the person who made the threatening call moments earlier. After learning of the incident, the AHRC called the HQI of Matale. After saying that we wanted to speak with the HQI, the other speaker hung up the phone before responding.

The AHRC also spoke to Mr. Hector Dharmasiri, Superintendent of the Police (SP) of Matale Police Division, about this matter. However, he showed rough manner about our complaint and he did not want to talk about the matter. Now the AHRC suspects that there may be a serious threat to Priyankara’s life, appears that the senior members of the police in the area seem to be aware of it.

The AHRC calls for your urgent intervention in this case. Please urge the Sri Lankan authorities to provide immediate protection to Priyankara and his family and conduct a proper investigation into the alleged incident and bring the responsible persons behind Priyankara’s intimidation to court.

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

Name of the victim: Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara, 33, self-employed (runs a poultry farm), married with two children
Address of the victim: 50/1 Ruwanpaya, Ratwatte, Ukuwela
Alleged perpetrators of his torture:
1. Sub Inspector (SI) Panannwala and four other officers of the Matale Police Station regarding his first torture on 5-6 January 2004
2. SI Jayampathi and Sergeant Samantha and other officers of the Matale Police Station regarding his second torture on 7 July 2004

On the morning of 6 July 2005, the wife of J. V. Saman Priyankara received a life-threatening telephone call from an unknown person who refused to identify himself.  The caller asked for Suda, a nickname used for her husband, Priyankara.  When she replied that he was not at home and asked for the identity of the caller, the caller said: “people from Colombo will come and throw bombs at your house and will destroy your husband, yourself and the family.”  Then the caller hung up.

Due to earlier threats the police have provided the following telephone number to be called in the event of further threats: (94 66) 222 2226 at Matale.  This is the telephone number of the Police Headquarters Inspector (HQI) of Matale.

When Priyankara’s wife called this number, a person answered the call.  She states that she recognized the voice as that of the person who gave her the threatening call moments earlier.  When she said that she wanted to talk to the HQI, the speaker said that it was a wrong number and hung up.  Next, she called 222 2221 and asked for the telephone number of the HQI’s office.  She was given the same number as before, 222 2226.  She immediately informed a local human rights organization of this incident which connected her to the AHRC where she lodged her complaint.  The AHRC immediately dialed (94 66) 222 2226 and someone picked up the telephone.  When we informed the speaker that this was a call from the AHRC in Hong Kong who wanted to speak with the HQI, speaker hung up the telephone without answering.

The AHRC also spoke to Superintendent of the Police (SP) Mr. Hector Dharmasiri about this matter. When he was told about this case, the SP abrasively questioned the right of the AHRC to talk to him about this matter. When the SP was told that the complaint is about the gross abuse of human rights by his subordinates, and that as a superior officer the AHRC was notifying him of the abuse, he did not want to talk about the matter. The rough manner with which this complaint was received gives reasons to suggest that there is a serious threat against the life of this torture victim, and that it seems to be known to the police higher-ups in the area.

On June 22, 2005, Priyankara and his family made a complaint of similar threats by the telephone from an unknown source. (See further: UP-74-2005) Accordingly, complaints were lodged with the Inspector General of Police, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, the Attorney General and the National Police Commission.  However, no action appears to have been taken.

The reason for these threats are the inquiries that have been going on into allegations of very brutal torture on Priayankara on two earlier occasions. The details of these incidents are given below.  The alleged perpetrators have been making threats through other police officers in order to force the victim to give up his complaints.  In Sri Lanka, such threats are very serious and many persons have been subjected to further torture or other harassments due to lodging complaints.  One person, Gerald Perera, was killed on 26 November 2004 while he was preparing to give evidence in a torture case which was due to take place one week later.  There is not an adequate witness protection programme in the country, and as a result, people who make complaints of serious abuses of human rights are exposed to enormous dangers.

At the moment the person who is charge of such protection is the HQI of Matale.  However, there are now strong suspicions that the threats were made from this office itself.  Obviously this office seems to be acting in defiance of the orders given to it to protect the victim.  This is a serious matter that requires urgent action on the part of the authorities.

The original complaint of the victim was in January 2004 that Priyankara was brutally tortured by the Matale police who poured boiling water on his thighs and caused severe wounds. (See further: UA-07-2004) He was again illegally arrested and tortured by the Matale police on 7 July 2004 because he did not withdraw his complaints against the officers of the Matale Police Station. At that time, the Matale police also attempted to fabricate charges against him and his brother. (See further: UP-34-2004)

Priyankara is a victim of police brutality and is facing continuous intimidation and harassment by the torture perpetrators. Thus, he lives in great fear for his life at all times. The AHRC calls for your urgent intervention in this case. Please urge the Sri Lankan authorities to provide immediate protection to Priyankara and conduct a proper investigation into the alleged incident and bring the responsible persons behind Priyankara’s intimidation to court. The Government of Sri Lanka should also take genuine steps to establish an effective witness protection program for all witnesses in criminal trials.

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