Asian Human Rights Commission

(The chairman of the National Police Commission in Sri Lanka, Ranjith Abeysuriya, did not react to an urgent report of police assault on a torture victim on July 7. Abeysuriya even complained that his dinner was disturbed when an Asian Human Rights Commission officer called to ask for his intervention in the case. The AHRC wrote the following letter to the police chief on the next day to express its shock and disgust at his attitude towards the practice of torture in police stations. If Abeysuriya cannot protect torture victims and deal with their complaints against the police, he should resign, the AHRC said.)

July 8, 2004
Mr. Ranjith Abeysuriya PC
Chairperson
National Police Commission
69-1 Ward Place
Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Fax: +94 11 2 669128 / 691926 / 674148
(residence)

Dear Mr. Abeysuriya,

R E: Provide Effective Protection to Torture Victims Who Make Complaints, or If You are Unable to Do Your Constitutional Duty, Resign

I refer to the telephone conversation between yourself and an AHRC programme officer Ali Saleem, which took place last night (July 7, 2004) regarding further assaults upon -and the baseless arrest of -J. V. Saman Priyankara, the petitioner in S. C. F. R. 78/ 2004. Mr. Priyankara had complained to you of being cruelly treated by an officer of the Matale Police Station, who poured boiling water on his thighs on January 5, 2004.
You earlier wrote to the AHRC stating that the Kandy Area Coordinator of the National Police Commission (NPC) had taken effective action regarding this matter and that the officer concerned was facing a disciplinary inquiry. You also used the occasion to express your absolute confidence in the Kandy Area Coordinator whom, you said, you had been fortunate to recruit.

Ever since Mr. Priyankara made his complaint regarding the above mentioned incident he has faced severe threats to withdraw it, and in fact has made further complaints regarding the threats themselves. Regrettably, these threats were made good at around 5 pm yesterday, July 7, when 10 officers came to Mr. Priyankara's house and severely assaulted him in front of his family, before taking him away in their jeep. At the Matale Police
Station, two lawyers were unable to get access to him. One person, who was able to speak with him, found that he had lost hearing in one of his ears and was finding it difficult to speak. He managed to say that he was arrested for no reason and mercilessly assaulted. Since about 11 am
this morning he has been transferred from police custody to court. 

Mr. Saleem's call to you was to complain about this assault and request your urgent intervention, at least by making your concern known to the concerned authorities. Given your position as chairperson of the NPC, we believe that some phone calls from you would have carried considerable weight and secured a torture victim from further violence at this very crucial stage.

However, to Mr. Saleem's surprise, you responded irritably that he was disturbing your dinner after a hard day's work, and your only advice was that he ought to contact the Inspector General of Police. We had in fact by then complained to higher police authorities, but informed you directly in deference to your position as chairperson of the NPC. We had confidence that you believed in your constitutional mandate and that you would
at least do the minimum possible to protect a victim of torture in grave danger at that very moment. You have maintained publicly that you are dissatisfied with how the police themselves deal with such complaints, and have even stated that you would prefer to have an independent investigatory unit under your command.

On April 30, I wrote to you to register dissatisfaction at the manner in which the case of Tissa Kumara -who was tortured and contracted tuberculosis due to the actions of one officer at the Welipenna Police Station -has been handled by your commission. I also expressed dissatisfaction at your handling of other cases of torture in the past and pointed out that the commission is not a mere box into which we wish to drop complaints but get no reply.

We are now making it known to you that we are appalled by the manner in which you deal with complaints of torture. Torture is among the most heinous crimes under international human rights law, and is also a crime under Sri Lankan law. Yet you have been treating the enormous number of torture complaints reaching you -many of them extremely gruesome -as if they were trivial. In fact, your casual approach is helping to perpetuate the
routine torture being practised in police stations in Sri Lanka. The record of your commission on torture is shameful. It is an utter disgrace.

We now urge you to:
1. Either take appropriate action in terms of your constitutional duty to deal with public complaints against the police, particularly those relating to torture, and to maintain discipline in the police force; or,

2. If you feel that you are not up to the task and that you are unable to get the cooperation required from the police to do your duty, make this known to the nation and then, for the love of the people, please do resign. 

We make this call only now, having welcomed the inauguration of your commission and your appointment, and having made very serious efforts to support  your commission and cooperate with you personally in every possible way. I regret to say that this all appears to have come to nought.

Thank you.
Yours sincerely,
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
Asian Human Rights Commission