Sri Lanka
05.11.04
Urgent Interventions
Sri Lanka: Death threats to a tortured 17 year-old boy and his family to withdraw complaint
LKA 071103.1.CC
Follow-up to case LKA 071103.CC
Child concern/ Illegal arrest and detention/Torture/Death threats, pressure and harassment
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission HK, a member of the OMCT network, that Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara (17), who was illegally arrested, detained, tortured and sexually abused for nearly one week by the Rathgama Police in September 2003, needs urgent protection.
According to the information received, after his release from police custody, H.L. Sandun Kumara filed a fundamental rights application against the alleged perpetrators before the Supreme Court on 21st October 2003. The case is now pending and is due to be heard on 10th December 2004.
However, the boy’s mother has reported that since her son has filed the fundamental rights application, the accused police officers have been incessantly threatening his family. Moreover, the perpetrators have been pressuring the family to withdraw their complaint in exchange for a sum of money. Fearing for her son’s safety, the mother has had to send him away from the village.
In addition to these threats and measures taken to pressure the family, the perpetrators have filed a false claim against H.L. Sandun Kumara, a consequence of which is that he has to periodically appear before the Magistrate’s Court in Galle, which has been greatly detrimental to his psychological and physical wellbeing.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT had 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, then 16 years old, and the fabrication of charges against him by Rathgama Police in Sri Lanka one year ago (see case LKA 071103.CC).
H.L. Sandun Kumara lives in Temple Road, Pitiwella, Boossa. H 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 he stopped going at the factory.
On 10th September 2003, the victim's aunt informed H.L. Sandun Kumara that the Rathgama Police were looking for him. He went to the Rathgama Police Station on the morning of 12th September 2003 where police officers questioned him until 3:00 pm 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 allegedly 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 was 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 and again two days after 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 lodging complaints to the Supreme Court, 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
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. take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of H.L. Sandun Kumara and his family;
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 adequate reparation is provided to him and his family ;
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, 5th November, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Follow-up to case LKA 071103.CC
Child concern/ Illegal arrest and detention/Torture/Death threats, pressure and harassment
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
New Information
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission HK, a member of the OMCT network, that Hikkaduwa Liyanage Sandun Kumara (17), who was illegally arrested, detained, tortured and sexually abused for nearly one week by the Rathgama Police in September 2003, needs urgent protection.
According to the information received, after his release from police custody, H.L. Sandun Kumara filed a fundamental rights application against the alleged perpetrators before the Supreme Court on 21st October 2003. The case is now pending and is due to be heard on 10th December 2004.
However, the boy’s mother has reported that since her son has filed the fundamental rights application, the accused police officers have been incessantly threatening his family. Moreover, the perpetrators have been pressuring the family to withdraw their complaint in exchange for a sum of money. Fearing for her son’s safety, the mother has had to send him away from the village.
In addition to these threats and measures taken to pressure the family, the perpetrators have filed a false claim against H.L. Sandun Kumara, a consequence of which is that he has to periodically appear before the Magistrate’s Court in Galle, which has been greatly detrimental to his psychological and physical wellbeing.
Brief reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT had 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, then 16 years old, and the fabrication of charges against him by Rathgama Police in Sri Lanka one year ago (see case LKA 071103.CC).
H.L. Sandun Kumara lives in Temple Road, Pitiwella, Boossa. H 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 he stopped going at the factory.
On 10th September 2003, the victim's aunt informed H.L. Sandun Kumara that the Rathgama Police were looking for him. He went to the Rathgama Police Station on the morning of 12th September 2003 where police officers questioned him until 3:00 pm 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 allegedly 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 was 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 and again two days after 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 lodging complaints to the Supreme Court, 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
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. take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and psychological integrity of H.L. Sandun Kumara and his family;
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 adequate reparation is provided to him and his family ;
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
- 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
- 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. Chandra Fernando, Inspector General of Police (IGP), New Secretariat, Colombo , SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 11 2 440440/426711/327877
- Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC, Chairperson, National Police Commission, 69-1 Ward Place, Colombo 7, SRI LANKA, Fax: +94 11 2 669 528, Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148, E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country.
Geneva, 5th November, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.