Sri Lanka: rape of a 10-year-old girl by six persons for over a year

LKA 290904.CC.VAW CHILD CONCERN / VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Child abuse/Rape and sexual harassment/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 rape of Dilani Madusika Rajanayake, a 10-year-old girl, for over one year by six persons including members of her family. According to the information received, when Dilani Madusika Rajanayake's mother went abroad to earn money, her aunt (the mother's elder sister) took care of her. However, from March 2003, the girl's stepfather R.M. Karunathilake chased away the aunt and continuously raped the girl for more than one year (until August 2004). According to the same source, Dilani Madusika Rajanayake was also raped by several other persons. First, she was raped by her stepfather's son-in-law, then by her stepfather's brother-in-law, named Alwis Wijenayake. Moreover, R.M. Karunathilake (the stepfather) brought the girl to a businessman named Chandra Jayantha Silva and she was sexually harassed by this businessman at his house frequently. The girl testified that Chandra Jayantha Silva's friend (name unknown) and a person named Duminda Wijenayake also raped her. The facts was discovered by the girl's school teachers, who noticed that she lost her enthusiasm for studies, looked very depressed and walked in an abnormal pattern. When they inquired to her, Dilani Madusika Rajanayake told the teachers that she has been constantly raped by six persons including her stepfather for about one year. The teachers immediately reported the incident to the Hingurakgoda Police Station and helped her to take legal action against these six perpetrators (Case No. B 7420/2004). When she was in protective custody at the Hingurakgoda Police Station, the girl identified the house of Chandra Jayantha Silva as the place where she had been raped. In Polonnaruwa Court, the girl also testified that Chandra Jayantha Silva gave her some clothes worth around Rs. 2,000 and chocolates to eat. She added that a few minutes after eating the chocolates, she lost her consciousness and was raped by him and his friend. The girl is now staying with her mother, who returned from aboard after learning about the incident. The villagers made several protests in front of the police station demanding the arrest of the perpetrators. Pressured by the people, the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the Hingurakgoda Police Station, Inspector of Police (I.P.) Madanayake promised the villagers to arrest all the perpetrators. But so far, three among the six perpetrators have not been arrested. The villagers believe that the police did not arrest these three persons due to interference by some powerful persons. Also, the teachers reported that on the first day when the perpetrators were produced before the court, they were threatened by supporters of the perpetrators. On 8 September 2004, the Hingurakgoda Magistrates' Court decided to postponed the case to November since the investigations were not over. Moreover, even though a member of the crime branch of the Hingurakgoda Police Headquarters informed AHRC that there were necessary actions taken to arrest the other three perpetrators, they are still at large. OMCT is gravely concerned at the sexual harassment of Dilani Madusika Rajanayake. Therefore, OMCT urges the authorities of Sri Lanka to continue to investigate into this case and bring immediate legal action against the three perpetrators who remain free. OMCT would like to recall Sri Lanka, as a state party, that under article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child “States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.” Furthermore, according to article 4 (c) of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, “States should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to this end, should […] exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.” 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 Dilani Madusika Rajanayake; ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these events, in order to bring all those responsible to trial and apply the penal and/or civil sanctions as provided by law; iii. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards. Addresses

• Ms. Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, President, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo-1, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2 333 703


• 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


• 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


• Prof. Harendra De Silva, National Child Rights Authority, 330, Thalawathgoda Road, Madiwella, Sri Lanka, Tel: +94 11 2 778912/13/14, Fax: +94 11 2 778975, E-mail: ncpa@childprotection.gov.lk


• Inspector General of Police (IGP), New Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2 381394/ 446174

Please also write to the embassies of Sri Lanka in your respective country. Geneva, September 29th, 2004 Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.