Sri Lanka
15.09.04
Urgent Interventions
Sri Lanka: Arbitrary arrest and torture of Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath
Case LKA 150904
Arbitrary arrest/ Alleged 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 (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and torture of 40 year-old Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, a business man and married father of three children, was detained when visiting friends that were already in police custody at the Polgahawela police station. When entering the police station, on 5 September 2004 at around 4:00 p.m., Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was approached by an unknown individual in civilian clothes who inquired about his sobriety. Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath ignored him as he had not had any alcohol.
According to the victim, when he approached the cell where his friends were being held, with permission of the receptionist, someone suddenly began to kick and assault him from behind. The victim recognized that the assaulter was the same person that had asked him about his sobriety. It was later found that this person who initially attacked Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was a constable attached to the Polgahawela police station.
It is reported that during this assault the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) of the Polgahawela police station, wearing a pair of pants and a T-shirt, ordered the constable to bring Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath into his room. The victim alleged that the O.I.C. looked completely drunk at the time.
In the room, it is alleged that the O.I.C. brutally assaulted the victim with a Kitul tree pole (a very hard wooden pole). After eight to nine strikes, the O.I.C. took the victim to the police station compound and ordered Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath to remove his shirt. He was then ordered to fold his sarong (Amuda Gahanne) and to raise his hands. The O.I.C. then began to severely strike him again with the Kitul pole. The victim was then ordered to crawl around the compound while being kicked after twelve to fifteen more blows by the Kitul pole. The victim was then taken back next to the cell and assaulted for around fifteen more minutes.
Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was then put into a police jeep and taken to the Polgahawela Government Hospital where an unknown doctor allegedly falsely commented that the victim was drunk without an examination or questioning.
According to Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, the following morning, the 6th of September 2004, he was released on bail and with no exact charge against him. His family members then took him to Polgahawela Government Hospital where he was admitted and has been receiving treatment in ward no. 01 as to this day.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, as he was allegedly subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture. OMCT calls upon the authorities to launch an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible for any violations of human rights and bring them to justice.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of this event 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 adequate reparation is provided to the victim of this abuse;
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:
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, 15 September 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary arrest/ Alleged 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 (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary arrest and torture of 40 year-old Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, a business man and married father of three children, was detained when visiting friends that were already in police custody at the Polgahawela police station. When entering the police station, on 5 September 2004 at around 4:00 p.m., Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was approached by an unknown individual in civilian clothes who inquired about his sobriety. Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath ignored him as he had not had any alcohol.
According to the victim, when he approached the cell where his friends were being held, with permission of the receptionist, someone suddenly began to kick and assault him from behind. The victim recognized that the assaulter was the same person that had asked him about his sobriety. It was later found that this person who initially attacked Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was a constable attached to the Polgahawela police station.
It is reported that during this assault the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) of the Polgahawela police station, wearing a pair of pants and a T-shirt, ordered the constable to bring Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath into his room. The victim alleged that the O.I.C. looked completely drunk at the time.
In the room, it is alleged that the O.I.C. brutally assaulted the victim with a Kitul tree pole (a very hard wooden pole). After eight to nine strikes, the O.I.C. took the victim to the police station compound and ordered Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath to remove his shirt. He was then ordered to fold his sarong (Amuda Gahanne) and to raise his hands. The O.I.C. then began to severely strike him again with the Kitul pole. The victim was then ordered to crawl around the compound while being kicked after twelve to fifteen more blows by the Kitul pole. The victim was then taken back next to the cell and assaulted for around fifteen more minutes.
Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath was then put into a police jeep and taken to the Polgahawela Government Hospital where an unknown doctor allegedly falsely commented that the victim was drunk without an examination or questioning.
According to Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, the following morning, the 6th of September 2004, he was released on bail and with no exact charge against him. His family members then took him to Polgahawela Government Hospital where he was admitted and has been receiving treatment in ward no. 01 as to this day.
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. W.R. Wijitha Herath, as he was allegedly subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture. OMCT calls upon the authorities to launch an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events in order to identify those responsible for any violations of human rights and bring them to justice.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. take all measures necessary to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Welgama Ralalage Wijitha Herath;
ii. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of this event 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 adequate reparation is provided to the victim of this abuse;
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. Mahindra Rajapakse, Prime Minister, Cambridge Place, Colombo 7, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 11 2 682905 / 575454, 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 11 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 11 2 669 128 / 691 926, Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148, E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
- Mr. T. I. de Silva, Inspector General of Police (IGP), New Secretariat, Colombo 1, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 11 2 440440/426711/327877
- Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, Chairperson, 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
- Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Rue de Moillebeau 56, Case postale 436, 1211 Genève 19, Tel. : +41 22 / 919 12 50, Fax : +41 22 / 734 90 84, E-mail : mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, 15 September 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.