Sri Lanka
07.11.03
Urgent Interventions
Sri Lanka: Severe torture of a 16 year old boy
Case LKA 071103.CC
Child concern/ Illegal arrest and detention/Torture/Death threats
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission-HK, a member of the OMCT network, of the torture of a teenage boy Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara, 16 years old, and the fabrication of charges against him by Rathgama Police in Sri Lanka.
Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara lives in Temple Road, Pitiwella, Boossa. He had to leave school after his father's death to support his family, and started to work at the factory, owned by Piyasena Mudalali since August 2003. However, the work was so hard that the victim stopped his work at the factory.
On 10th September 2003, the victim's aunt was informed that the Rathgama police were looking for him. He came back home and went to the Rathgama Police Station on the morning of 12th September 2003. The police questioned him until 3:00pm to make him confess a theft. Then, they released him and told him to come back the next day.
On 13th September 2003, the Silva brothers, who are relatives of Piyasena Mudalali, for whom the victim used to work, took him to Piyasena Mudalali's house and called the Rathgama Police Station saying that they had caught the thief, took him there, and handed him over to Sub Inspector (SI) J.T. Ramyasiri.
SI. J.T. Ramyasiri assaulted the victim, holding him by his T-shirt collar and lifting him off the ground, demanding him to reveal the whereabouts of the goods that he had stolen. He kicked his legs and dropped him on to his back. Then, he trampled him with his shoes, hung him up on a tree, by the waistband of his trousers, and dropped him on to the ground.
In the following days, the police officers repeatedly assaulted and tortured the victim by applying chilli powder on his genitals, wrapping up his head and face with his T-shirt and pouring water on his face causing him to nearly suffocate, beating his back, buttocks and legs with their hands and wooden sticks. The police sergeant Silva hit the victim' s head against a wall and struck his ears with his shoes and also kicked and trampled his legs. As a result, the victim is complaining of a loss of hearing and recurrent headaches until now. In Addition, the victim was threatened to be shot and also taken to a cemetery and ordered to dig a grave there. Moreover, the victim's mother was not allowed to meet her son until September 17th and the police refused her request to provide medical treatment to him.
The police finally produced the victim in court on 19th September, and he sent him to the Kithulampitiya Remand Home. The officers of the remand home admitted the victim to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital on 21st September 2003. He was released, but admitted to the Karapitiya hospital again on 23rd September 2003 as a result of his complaining of severe headaches and chest pains.
On 24th September 2003, the victim was produced in the Galle Magistrate's Court and he was released on bail. After making the complaints, the victim's family has been receiving death threats by the perpetrators. The Officer In Charge and the other officers, who involved in torturing the victim, are still serving at the same police station
Meantime, the Supreme Court issued leave to proceed in fundamental rights filed on behalf of the victim. Court made order to the National Police Commission (NPC) to conduct disciplinary inquiry into this case.
The International Secretariat of OMCT strongly condemns the Rathgama police officers' acts of torture and fabrication of charges against Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara. OMCT welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court to proceed with the case, and urges the authorities to guarantee the impartiality of the inquiry, as well as the protection of the victim and his family while the inquiry is being carried out. OMCT wishes to recall that Sri Lanka, as a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is bound to the provision that "No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (Art. 37 (a)). Furthermore, the Convention states that "Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age." (Art. 37 (c)).
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. order the impartial investigation into the circumstances of the boy arrest and torture undertaken at Rathgama Police Station, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and /or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical and psychosocial assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the boy;
iii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to him and his family ;
iv. put an immediate end to all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of children in accordance with national and international legislation and particularly with articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Adresses
1. Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk
2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
3. Mr. Shaveendra Fernando
Senior State Counsel
Torture Prosecution Unit
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 327 765
4. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 669 128 (need to ask to change to fax mode) / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
5. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Director
National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
6. Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Rue de Moillebeau 56 (5ème) - CP 436, CH-1211, Genève 19, Suisse, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 734 90 8
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country. Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Geneva, 7th November 2003
Child concern/ Illegal arrest and detention/Torture/Death threats
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission-HK, a member of the OMCT network, of the torture of a teenage boy Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara, 16 years old, and the fabrication of charges against him by Rathgama Police in Sri Lanka.
Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara lives in Temple Road, Pitiwella, Boossa. He had to leave school after his father's death to support his family, and started to work at the factory, owned by Piyasena Mudalali since August 2003. However, the work was so hard that the victim stopped his work at the factory.
On 10th September 2003, the victim's aunt was informed that the Rathgama police were looking for him. He came back home and went to the Rathgama Police Station on the morning of 12th September 2003. The police questioned him until 3:00pm to make him confess a theft. Then, they released him and told him to come back the next day.
On 13th September 2003, the Silva brothers, who are relatives of Piyasena Mudalali, for whom the victim used to work, took him to Piyasena Mudalali's house and called the Rathgama Police Station saying that they had caught the thief, took him there, and handed him over to Sub Inspector (SI) J.T. Ramyasiri.
SI. J.T. Ramyasiri assaulted the victim, holding him by his T-shirt collar and lifting him off the ground, demanding him to reveal the whereabouts of the goods that he had stolen. He kicked his legs and dropped him on to his back. Then, he trampled him with his shoes, hung him up on a tree, by the waistband of his trousers, and dropped him on to the ground.
In the following days, the police officers repeatedly assaulted and tortured the victim by applying chilli powder on his genitals, wrapping up his head and face with his T-shirt and pouring water on his face causing him to nearly suffocate, beating his back, buttocks and legs with their hands and wooden sticks. The police sergeant Silva hit the victim' s head against a wall and struck his ears with his shoes and also kicked and trampled his legs. As a result, the victim is complaining of a loss of hearing and recurrent headaches until now. In Addition, the victim was threatened to be shot and also taken to a cemetery and ordered to dig a grave there. Moreover, the victim's mother was not allowed to meet her son until September 17th and the police refused her request to provide medical treatment to him.
The police finally produced the victim in court on 19th September, and he sent him to the Kithulampitiya Remand Home. The officers of the remand home admitted the victim to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital on 21st September 2003. He was released, but admitted to the Karapitiya hospital again on 23rd September 2003 as a result of his complaining of severe headaches and chest pains.
On 24th September 2003, the victim was produced in the Galle Magistrate's Court and he was released on bail. After making the complaints, the victim's family has been receiving death threats by the perpetrators. The Officer In Charge and the other officers, who involved in torturing the victim, are still serving at the same police station
Meantime, the Supreme Court issued leave to proceed in fundamental rights filed on behalf of the victim. Court made order to the National Police Commission (NPC) to conduct disciplinary inquiry into this case.
The International Secretariat of OMCT strongly condemns the Rathgama police officers' acts of torture and fabrication of charges against Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara. OMCT welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court to proceed with the case, and urges the authorities to guarantee the impartiality of the inquiry, as well as the protection of the victim and his family while the inquiry is being carried out. OMCT wishes to recall that Sri Lanka, as a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is bound to the provision that "No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" (Art. 37 (a)). Furthermore, the Convention states that "Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age." (Art. 37 (c)).
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. order the impartial investigation into the circumstances of the boy arrest and torture undertaken at Rathgama Police Station, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and /or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical and psychosocial assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to the boy;
iii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to him and his family ;
iv. put an immediate end to all forms of torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of children in accordance with national and international legislation and particularly with articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Adresses
1. Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
Prime Minister
Cambridge Place, Colombo 7
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454
E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk
2. Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436 421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
3. Mr. Shaveendra Fernando
Senior State Counsel
Torture Prosecution Unit
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 327 765
4. Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairman National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 669 128 (need to ask to change to fax mode) / 691 926
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
5. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Director
National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806
Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
6. Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Rue de Moillebeau 56 (5ème) - CP 436, CH-1211, Genève 19, Suisse, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 734 90 8
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country. Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Geneva, 7th November 2003