Sri Lanka
27.01.04
Urgent Interventions
Sri Lanka: arbitrary arrest and torture of Mr. Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara
Case LKA 270104
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Torture / Impunity
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 (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and torture of Mr. Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara by officers from the Matale Police Station in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, on January 5th, 2004 at approximately 4:00 p.m., 32 year-old Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara was arbitrarily arrested and brought to the Matale Police Station by Sub Inspector (SI) Panannwala and four other officers. The officers told Mr. Priyankara that they wanted to punish him because he was rude to one of their officers in a previous argument with a ‘Gramaarakshaka (village security officer).’ Sub-Inspector Panannwala and the other officers pushed Saman Priyankara into a jeep and took him to the Matale Police Station.
At the police station, SI Pananwala started to beat him severely and ordered one officer to boil the water saying that he was going to make sure that the victim would not be able to have a normal sex life anymore. They poured the boiling water down his right leg from the hip downwards, burning his genitals. The victim cried in pain and pleaded with them not to do it. The victim received severe burn wounds, and the officers only gave him some oil to apply on the wounds.
The policemen then reportedly warned the victim not to report the incident to anyone and not to attempt to receive treatment at the hospital. In several torture cases in Sri Lanka, reports indicate that policemen (the perpetrators) have obstructed the victim from receiving medical treatment at the hospital because they are afraid that the medical report would be used as unfavourable evidence against them in court. Saman Priyankara was released from the police station at around noon on January 6th, 2004. He has since been admitted to ward No. 10, the accident ward in the Kandy Hospital.
After he was released, the police have continued to visit Saman Priyankara's house to check whether he has taken any legal steps regarding the incident. They have already visited his house five times between January 6th and January 20th, 2004.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture to which Saman Priyankara was subjected, and remains concerned for his personal integrity, given that the police keep visiting him on a regular basis. OMCT calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to guarantee his personal integrity at all times, and to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, and bring them to justice. OMCT also urges the authorities to ensure that Saman Priyankara receives adequate reparation and medical treatment for his injuries.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation;
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
· Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Prime Minister, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 682905, E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk
· Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan, Attorney General, Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 436 421, Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
· Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, Chairman National Police Commission, 69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 2 691 926
· National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 694 924, E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
· 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
· 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 84
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, January 27th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest and detention / Torture / Impunity
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 (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and torture of Mr. Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara by officers from the Matale Police Station in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, on January 5th, 2004 at approximately 4:00 p.m., 32 year-old Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara was arbitrarily arrested and brought to the Matale Police Station by Sub Inspector (SI) Panannwala and four other officers. The officers told Mr. Priyankara that they wanted to punish him because he was rude to one of their officers in a previous argument with a ‘Gramaarakshaka (village security officer).’ Sub-Inspector Panannwala and the other officers pushed Saman Priyankara into a jeep and took him to the Matale Police Station.
At the police station, SI Pananwala started to beat him severely and ordered one officer to boil the water saying that he was going to make sure that the victim would not be able to have a normal sex life anymore. They poured the boiling water down his right leg from the hip downwards, burning his genitals. The victim cried in pain and pleaded with them not to do it. The victim received severe burn wounds, and the officers only gave him some oil to apply on the wounds.
The policemen then reportedly warned the victim not to report the incident to anyone and not to attempt to receive treatment at the hospital. In several torture cases in Sri Lanka, reports indicate that policemen (the perpetrators) have obstructed the victim from receiving medical treatment at the hospital because they are afraid that the medical report would be used as unfavourable evidence against them in court. Saman Priyankara was released from the police station at around noon on January 6th, 2004. He has since been admitted to ward No. 10, the accident ward in the Kandy Hospital.
After he was released, the police have continued to visit Saman Priyankara's house to check whether he has taken any legal steps regarding the incident. They have already visited his house five times between January 6th and January 20th, 2004.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned by the arbitrary arrest, detention and torture to which Saman Priyankara was subjected, and remains concerned for his personal integrity, given that the police keep visiting him on a regular basis. OMCT calls on the Government of Sri Lanka to guarantee his personal integrity at all times, and to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible, and bring them to justice. OMCT also urges the authorities to ensure that Saman Priyankara receives adequate reparation and medical treatment for his injuries.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee Jayasekara Vithanage Saman Priyankara’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation;
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
· Hon. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Prime Minister, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 682905, E-mail: secpm@sltnet.lk or bradmanw@slt.lk
· Hon. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan, Attorney General, Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 436 421, Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
· Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, Chairman National Police Commission, 69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 2 691 926
· National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 1 2 694 924, E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
· 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
· 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 84
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, January 27th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.