Sri Lanka
17.09.03
Urgent Interventions
Sri lanka: torture of Mohamad Ameer Mohamad Riswan, Suppaiya Ravichandran and Abdul Karim Mohamad Roshan Latief
Case LKA 170903
Arbitrary detention/Torture
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, a member of the OMCT network, of the illegal arrests, detentions, and torture of three men in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, On August 30th, 2003, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Mohamad Ameer Mohamad Riswan (23-years-old), Suppaiya Ravichandran (23-years-old), and Abdul Karim Mohamad Roshan Latief (30-years-old), were riding a three-wheeler together. They were stopped by a van that had six passengers, including the driver, who were all police officers from the Wattala police station but were not in uniform. The three victims were forced into the van, blindfolded, and taken to the Wattala Police Station.
Later that day, around 7:00 p.m., the three were severely assaulted by several police officers, in particular Officer Navaratne. The abuse continued into the next day. On the night of August 31st. The victims were taken to the office of the DIG, North Colombo at Paliyagoda, which is the police headquarters for the area. At the police headquarters, the victims were handed over to a senior officer who beat the victims on their legs, stomachs, chests, and hands and forced them to confess to involvement in a robbery about which they nothing. When the victims tried to plead innocence, the officer intensified the assault until the brick he was using to strike them broke into pieces.
The victims suffered multiple injuries of differing levels of severity. Mr. Riywan began to bleed through his nose from receiving blows to the ears with the brick. When the brick broke, one of the officers of the Wattala Police Station brought in an old broomstick which was used to beat the detainees until it broke. Mr. Latief suffered especially severe injuries after having been continuously assaulted for thirty minutes, including a laceration from being stabbed in the chest with the broken end of the broomstick.
The victims were brought back to the Wattala Police Station on September 1st, 2003, and were locked up in a cell. There was little to drink. That evening, the victims' families came to the station to see them. Later that night Mr. Latief was tortured more and was reportedly tortured while being hung from a beam.
After having received a complaint from the family of one of the victims, three officers from the National Human Rights Commission visited the victims at the Wattala Police Station on September 1st. They took written statements from the victims and also noted injuries suffered by the victims. They ordered the police to allow the victims to see a Judicial Medical Officer, which they did. That same day the victims appeared before a magistrate, from which the police obtained a detention order allegedly for offences relating to narcotics. The victims had not been questioned in relation to narcotics during the detainment. After the Human Rights officers visit, Sub Inspector Mr. Navaratne told Mr. Riswan and Mr. Ravichandran that they would implicated for possession of narcotics because they had complained to the NHRC.
On September 6th, the victims once again appeared before the Magistrate, this time charged with 28 offenses. Mr. Latief was charged with theft and the other for possession of drugs. When interviewed in prison, they denied all charges.
It is important to note that the Wattala Police Station has a history of torture. It is the police station where Mr. Gerald Perera was detained and tortured. When the case came up before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, the court held that Mr. Sena Suraweera, the officer in charge of the police station, and other fellow officers are guilty of torturing Mr. Parera and the court ordered the highest compensation ever awarded in a torture case. (SCFR. 328/2002 - W.R. Sanjeewa AAL (for Gerald Perera) Vs. Sena Suraweera and eight others) However, Mr. Sena Suraweera continues to be the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the same police station.
The pattern of this case shows that the police is looking for substitute suspects to be victimised for crimes the police has either failed to investigate or were unable to prove. Even more frightening is the use of detention orders for purely arbitrary and frivolous reasons. This justifies the stand of AHRC and other Human Rights groups demanding abolition of detention orders permitting persons to be kept in police custody for more than 24 hours. Sri Lankan authorities have not taken any steps, what so ever, to put an end to this situation despite exposure of ever so many cases and enormous media coverage against police torture. In this context, it is also pertinent to note that an officer who was once held responsible for illegal torture of suspects still holds his office as the officer in charge of the same police station. This is a pointer towards the lack of interest of the authorities to put an end to this situation.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the disproportionate use of force by the police. OMCT condemns the arbitrary detention of the three victims and the use of torture by police officials. Furthermore OMCT urges the Sri Lankan Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee an immediate, impartial and effective investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal, and apply the sanctions provided for by law.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned persons;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Take all necessary measures to ensure respect for the international human rights instruments to which the victims are party, which includes respect for the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, such as the practice of corporal punishment;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President, Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President's House, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 333 703, E-mail: for_min@sri.lanka.net
· Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 575 454/682 905, E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk, bradmanw@slt.lk
· Attorney General, Hon. K.C. Kamalasabesan, Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 436 421, E-mail: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
· Minister of Justice, Hon. W.J.M. Lokubandara, Ministry of Justice, Law Reform and National Integration, Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka, Fax: + 94 12 424 447
· Minister of Interior, Honourable John Amaratunga, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 387 526/698 282
· Ambassadeur Kariyawasam,Prasad, Rue de Moillebeau 56 (5ème) - CP 436, CH-1211, Genève 19, Suisse, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 734 90 84
· Inspector General of Police, Mr. T.E. Anandarajah, Sri Lanka Police Headquarters, New Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 438 915/446 174
· Chairman of National Police Commission, Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, 10 A, Flower Road, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, September 17th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention/Torture
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, a member of the OMCT network, of the illegal arrests, detentions, and torture of three men in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, On August 30th, 2003, at approximately 12:30 p.m., Mohamad Ameer Mohamad Riswan (23-years-old), Suppaiya Ravichandran (23-years-old), and Abdul Karim Mohamad Roshan Latief (30-years-old), were riding a three-wheeler together. They were stopped by a van that had six passengers, including the driver, who were all police officers from the Wattala police station but were not in uniform. The three victims were forced into the van, blindfolded, and taken to the Wattala Police Station.
Later that day, around 7:00 p.m., the three were severely assaulted by several police officers, in particular Officer Navaratne. The abuse continued into the next day. On the night of August 31st. The victims were taken to the office of the DIG, North Colombo at Paliyagoda, which is the police headquarters for the area. At the police headquarters, the victims were handed over to a senior officer who beat the victims on their legs, stomachs, chests, and hands and forced them to confess to involvement in a robbery about which they nothing. When the victims tried to plead innocence, the officer intensified the assault until the brick he was using to strike them broke into pieces.
The victims suffered multiple injuries of differing levels of severity. Mr. Riywan began to bleed through his nose from receiving blows to the ears with the brick. When the brick broke, one of the officers of the Wattala Police Station brought in an old broomstick which was used to beat the detainees until it broke. Mr. Latief suffered especially severe injuries after having been continuously assaulted for thirty minutes, including a laceration from being stabbed in the chest with the broken end of the broomstick.
The victims were brought back to the Wattala Police Station on September 1st, 2003, and were locked up in a cell. There was little to drink. That evening, the victims' families came to the station to see them. Later that night Mr. Latief was tortured more and was reportedly tortured while being hung from a beam.
After having received a complaint from the family of one of the victims, three officers from the National Human Rights Commission visited the victims at the Wattala Police Station on September 1st. They took written statements from the victims and also noted injuries suffered by the victims. They ordered the police to allow the victims to see a Judicial Medical Officer, which they did. That same day the victims appeared before a magistrate, from which the police obtained a detention order allegedly for offences relating to narcotics. The victims had not been questioned in relation to narcotics during the detainment. After the Human Rights officers visit, Sub Inspector Mr. Navaratne told Mr. Riswan and Mr. Ravichandran that they would implicated for possession of narcotics because they had complained to the NHRC.
On September 6th, the victims once again appeared before the Magistrate, this time charged with 28 offenses. Mr. Latief was charged with theft and the other for possession of drugs. When interviewed in prison, they denied all charges.
It is important to note that the Wattala Police Station has a history of torture. It is the police station where Mr. Gerald Perera was detained and tortured. When the case came up before the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, the court held that Mr. Sena Suraweera, the officer in charge of the police station, and other fellow officers are guilty of torturing Mr. Parera and the court ordered the highest compensation ever awarded in a torture case. (SCFR. 328/2002 - W.R. Sanjeewa AAL (for Gerald Perera) Vs. Sena Suraweera and eight others) However, Mr. Sena Suraweera continues to be the Officer In Charge (OIC) of the same police station.
The pattern of this case shows that the police is looking for substitute suspects to be victimised for crimes the police has either failed to investigate or were unable to prove. Even more frightening is the use of detention orders for purely arbitrary and frivolous reasons. This justifies the stand of AHRC and other Human Rights groups demanding abolition of detention orders permitting persons to be kept in police custody for more than 24 hours. Sri Lankan authorities have not taken any steps, what so ever, to put an end to this situation despite exposure of ever so many cases and enormous media coverage against police torture. In this context, it is also pertinent to note that an officer who was once held responsible for illegal torture of suspects still holds his office as the officer in charge of the same police station. This is a pointer towards the lack of interest of the authorities to put an end to this situation.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the disproportionate use of force by the police. OMCT condemns the arbitrary detention of the three victims and the use of torture by police officials. Furthermore OMCT urges the Sri Lankan Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee an immediate, impartial and effective investigation into the circumstances of these events, identify those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal, and apply the sanctions provided for by law.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the afore-mentioned persons;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these arrests, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Take all necessary measures to ensure respect for the international human rights instruments to which the victims are party, which includes respect for the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, such as the practice of corporal punishment;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President, Her Excellency Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President's House, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 333 703, E-mail: for_min@sri.lanka.net
· Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 575 454/682 905, E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk, bradmanw@slt.lk
· Attorney General, Hon. K.C. Kamalasabesan, Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 436 421, E-mail: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
· Minister of Justice, Hon. W.J.M. Lokubandara, Ministry of Justice, Law Reform and National Integration, Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka, Fax: + 94 12 424 447
· Minister of Interior, Honourable John Amaratunga, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 12 387 526/698 282
· Ambassadeur Kariyawasam,Prasad, Rue de Moillebeau 56 (5ème) - CP 436, CH-1211, Genève 19, Suisse, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 734 90 84
· Inspector General of Police, Mr. T.E. Anandarajah, Sri Lanka Police Headquarters, New Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 438 915/446 174
· Chairman of National Police Commission, Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, 10 A, Flower Road, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, September 17th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.