Sri Lanka
28.10.03
Urgent Interventions
Sri Lanka: arbitrary detention and torture of Mr. Priyankara
Case LKA 281003
Arbitrary 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 detention and torture of Mr. Priyankara by members of the police in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, on October 22nd, 2003, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Mr. Dope Pathiranyalayage Lasantha Priyankara, age 33, went to the Bentota Police Station to inquire as to why some police inspectors had been looking for him. Without giving any explanation, the Officer in Charge, Sub-Inspector Mr. Silva, and two other officers took him into a back room of the police station. They were all wearing civilian clothes at the time.
As they entered the room, the officers began to assault Mr. Priyankara with a cricket bat, wooden clubs, and a rubber hose. During the attack, they repeatedly asked the victim if he was guilty of breaking into a house and stealing from it. The victim refused to admit any guilt, so the OIC and other officers stripped off his clothes, tied his thumbs together, and hung him by his thumbs from the ceiling. While he was in that position the police continued their assault with the same instruments, demanding that he admit his guilt in the robbery. Mr. Priyankara stated his innocence over and over, even during the brutal assault, so the officers brought him down, untied him, and threatened to kill him. The OIC nearly suffocated the victim by pressing his trousers and T-shirt to Mr. Priyankara's face. When they still failed to get a confession from the victim, they twisted his arms behind his back, tied him up, hung him from his thumbs again, and continued torturing him. SI Silva took a broken bottle and began to stab the victim in his stomach. The torture continued until the victim fell unconscious.
Mr. Priyankara was then taken to a rural hospital several kilmeters from Bentota, further away than the Bentota Government Hospital. He was given a saline injection and brought back to the police station. The OIC them told him that he could go home. The victim was still bleeding from his stab wounds and told them that he couldn't go home. The officers then took Mr. Priyankara to the Bentota Government Hospital. When they arrived, the OIC left the victim in the car while he went in to the hospital and spoke to the District Medical Officer. The DMO then brought some medicine out and gave it to the victim. The police then told him to exit the vehicle and go home. He returned home with great difficulty, and his family rushed him to the General Hospital Kalutara. He was admitted to the hospital and remains there in critical condition.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the arbitrary detention and torture to which Mr. Priyankara was subjected. The OMCT is gravely concerned for the psychological and physical integrity of the victim, given that he remains in critical condition following his having been subjected to severe torture. OMCT calls on the government of Sri Lanka to 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, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT also urges the authorities to ensure that Mr. Priyankara receives adequate reaparation 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 Mr. Dope Pathiranyalayage Lasantha Priyankara’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that he is provided with adequate medical assistance as a matter of urgency;
iii. 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;
iv. guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation;
v. 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
· Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, Chairman National Police Commission, 69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 2 691 926, Fax HOME: +941 2 674148
· 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, October 28th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary 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 detention and torture of Mr. Priyankara by members of the police in Sri Lanka.
According to the information received, on October 22nd, 2003, at approximately 1:30 p.m., Mr. Dope Pathiranyalayage Lasantha Priyankara, age 33, went to the Bentota Police Station to inquire as to why some police inspectors had been looking for him. Without giving any explanation, the Officer in Charge, Sub-Inspector Mr. Silva, and two other officers took him into a back room of the police station. They were all wearing civilian clothes at the time.
As they entered the room, the officers began to assault Mr. Priyankara with a cricket bat, wooden clubs, and a rubber hose. During the attack, they repeatedly asked the victim if he was guilty of breaking into a house and stealing from it. The victim refused to admit any guilt, so the OIC and other officers stripped off his clothes, tied his thumbs together, and hung him by his thumbs from the ceiling. While he was in that position the police continued their assault with the same instruments, demanding that he admit his guilt in the robbery. Mr. Priyankara stated his innocence over and over, even during the brutal assault, so the officers brought him down, untied him, and threatened to kill him. The OIC nearly suffocated the victim by pressing his trousers and T-shirt to Mr. Priyankara's face. When they still failed to get a confession from the victim, they twisted his arms behind his back, tied him up, hung him from his thumbs again, and continued torturing him. SI Silva took a broken bottle and began to stab the victim in his stomach. The torture continued until the victim fell unconscious.
Mr. Priyankara was then taken to a rural hospital several kilmeters from Bentota, further away than the Bentota Government Hospital. He was given a saline injection and brought back to the police station. The OIC them told him that he could go home. The victim was still bleeding from his stab wounds and told them that he couldn't go home. The officers then took Mr. Priyankara to the Bentota Government Hospital. When they arrived, the OIC left the victim in the car while he went in to the hospital and spoke to the District Medical Officer. The DMO then brought some medicine out and gave it to the victim. The police then told him to exit the vehicle and go home. He returned home with great difficulty, and his family rushed him to the General Hospital Kalutara. He was admitted to the hospital and remains there in critical condition.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the arbitrary detention and torture to which Mr. Priyankara was subjected. The OMCT is gravely concerned for the psychological and physical integrity of the victim, given that he remains in critical condition following his having been subjected to severe torture. OMCT calls on the government of Sri Lanka to 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, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT also urges the authorities to ensure that Mr. Priyankara receives adequate reaparation 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 Mr. Dope Pathiranyalayage Lasantha Priyankara’s physical and psychological integrity;
ii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that he is provided with adequate medical assistance as a matter of urgency;
iii. 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;
iv. guarantee that he is provided with adequate reparation;
v. 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
· Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, Chairman National Police Commission, 69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 1 2 691 926, Fax HOME: +941 2 674148
· 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, October 28th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.