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Police
on trial for torture The situation has become so grave that the Asian Human Rights Commission Chief Basil Fernando wrote to National Police Commission Chairman Ranjith Abeysooriya this week telling him to quit if he could not take effective action against the growing incidence of police torture with some of the cases bordering on the most brutal or barbaric. Despite
efforts by the Human Rights Commission to improve the basic rights
of people who are arrested by the police several cases of deaths
or brutal torture in police custody have hit the headlines in recent
weeks and months. S.H. Abeysinghe, a recruit police constable died mysteriously while he was serving in police headquarters in Trincomalee on May 17 this year. His wife says she had suspicions about her husband's death because he had been threatened or allegedly assaulted by some officers, though the post mortem report said the death was due to excessive drinking. A Sub Inspector at Welipenna is alleged to have given a rare form of torture to a suspect - the transmission of a disease. It is alleged that the Sub Inspector had got a TB patient to spit into the mouth of suspect Palitha Tissa Kumara who is now infected with TB, as stated in a fundamental rights case filed by him. Some police personnel in Matale have been accused of pouring boiling water on the legs and genitals of Saman J.V Priyankara' on July 7 allegedly warning him to withdraw an earlier torture allegation he had made against the police. Some personnel of the Panadura police have been accused of arresting and brutally torturing a 17-year-old schoolboy of Panadura over an unsubstantiated charge of robbing items from a police officer's house. The schoolboy Akila Dilhara de Silva says he was tortured inhumanly by the police though they had little or no evidence for the charge that he was behind the burglary at the residence of Inspector Prasanna Ginige, of the Field Force Headquarters. The boy said that on June 7 police had stormed his house and forced him to come to the station without telling him why he was being taken. "They told me about a burglary in Inspector Ginige's house and pressed me to tell what happened. They said they would settle the matter amicably if I confessed or else I would be dealt with seriously. I said I didn't know anything. Then I was put in the police cell." " After keeping me in the cell for about one hour they took me out and started beating me on my head and back with a hose for about 15 minutes while I was handcuffed with my hands over the shoulder," he said. Akila said that thereafter around 9 p.m. he was handcuffed to a table for about one and half hours and during that time he saw Inspector Prasanna Ginige at the police station making a complaint over a burglary at his house. "The next morning about 11.30 I was taken out and assaulted after being handcuffed in the same posture as they did earlier. They hit me on my genitals as well. I cried out to remove my handcuffs because my hands were numb but the policemen refused saying I had enough strength to bear the pain. The police threatened that if I did not confess I would be implicated in another case like possessing heroin or a grenade," Akila said. He said that around 8.30 that night police took him to the house of Prasanna Ginige with handcuffs still on and showed some shoe prints which they claimed were similar to his. Akila's mother Hemalatha Perera told The Sunday Times that while her son was in the police custody Inspector Ginige had ordered them to bring a pair of shoes worn by her son. Akila said Inspector Ginige had threatened to kill him and bury him in the village cemetery. He said later that night some policemen were drinking and they tried to force him to have a drink warning that otherwise they would take him to the beach and have him as their bite. The schoolboy said his mother had then gone to the Human Rights Commission and the police had promised to release him by about 3 p.m. on June 9 but he was released only by about 7 p.m. He said he was later admitted to the Kalubowila hospital because he was bleeding from the nose. He underwent several tests and X rays and was examined by an ENT specialist, neurologist and psychiatrist. The schoolboy said the ordeal did not end there. He claimed that on June 19 when he was coming out of hospital he was forcibly taken to the Mirihana police by three people who had come in a white Hiace van and were clad in civvies. The schoolboy said he was taken to the Mirihana station and beaten with a bat before being allowed to go, though he was warned he would be taken in again. Akila's mother said they were continuing to get threatening telephone calls. Her son's life and education had been disrupted to such an extent that he was often forced to stay away from home and take private tuition. Meanwhile Panadura police admitted that they arrested the victim on a complaint of burglary and later released him because they did not have evidence. However the police denied the allegations of torture. Human Rights Commissioner N.Selvakumar said that while probing the schoolboy's allegations the HRC had setup a new unit - for Torture Prevention and Monitoring with a 24-hour hotline. He said the National Police Commission had agreed that if substantial evidence of torture was available against any police officers they would be suspended pending inquiries. Kosgoda:
Police image crashes with tragedy Many journalists came under attack on Wednesday evening as the Kosgoda Police dispersed a crowd which had gathered to protest against what they believed to be an unfair handling of a road accident investigation which killed local government worker Pradeep Sanjeewa de Silva. The victim, a resident of the Kudagodagama area was knocked down by a car travelling from Colombo to Galle last Saturday at about 3:30 p.m. A Swarnavahini correspondent Sujeewa Piyadarshana who was covering the protest was among those attacked by officers of the Kosgoda Police. "I showed them the Swarnavahini logo on my camera, and my Government Media Accreditation as well," says a badly bruised Mr. Piyadarshana. "A Home Guard, whom locals later identified as Sisira, spoke to me in filth demanding that I get off the bus from which I was filming the proceedings," says the journalist, who insists the Home Guard knew that he was a media person. After Mr. Piyadarshana got off the bus, the police had allegedly beaten him repeatedly. "Many cameramen had their tapes seized," recalls the correspondent, who says that he had to send his footage to a nearby house for safekeeping. Mr. Piyadarshana claims he saw Kosgoda Inspector Mahinda Udagama assaulting people in the crowd. ASP W. Dayananda was also present at the scene. Other journalists, including the Divayina correspondent Anura Yasmine also came under attack from the police. Two of the accident victim's friends who were at the scene of the motor accident were remanded on the orders of the Karapitiya coroner M.H.M Avun, on allegations that they had given false testimony. Acting Magistrate Dickson Gunawardana had later that night released the two people who had been in the car. Many residents told The Sunday Times they believed the Police were taking the side of the more affluent driver - passenger duo who came from Kotte. "The Police switched the driver and the passenger, so that the individual with the driving licence would show up in court," charged one local, who told The Sunday Times that it was the younger brother who was driving at the time of the accident. "The driver did not have a licence," said another villager. It was this distrust of the Kosgoda Police that prompted the mass protest in front of the station. "The police were brutal in dispersing the demonstration," says one eyewitness. "Even women were thrown on the ground and beaten with batons." Piyadarshana's footage, which was aired on Swarnavahini, confirmed this. Forty-six people, including twenty-three women were taken in to custody on Wednesday. Although they were to be produced in the Balapitiya District Court on Thursday, the case was not heard, and the group was to be remanded until their case is called sometime in the next 14 days. When questioned about the police action, Inspector Mahinda Udagama said, "The Ambalangoda area ASP Dayananda tried talking to the crowds for about an hour before he ordered the attack. When the crowd wouldn't listen, we were forced to retaliate with tear gas and baton charges." He denied allegations that police assaulted media persons. "We obtained an order from the Magistrate to ensure that the deceased's funeral would be conducted in a calm and peaceful manner, without protests or disruptions to public peace," Inspector Udagama said. He said that he handed this court order over to the father of the deceased by Wednesday afternoon. "Towards evening however, reports started coming in that people were planning to attack, and even set fire to the Police station. We then took all precautions to ensure the safety of both the police and public," the inspector said. "Several Police units from other stations had arrived by the time the funeral procession approached the Police station," said one eyewitness, who also confirmed that a Riot Squad was present at the time. "The Police attacked the crowd in a frenzy," said another eyewitness, who claimed he saw officers attack even those who were carrying the coffin. "The coffin itself received a few hits," says the same witness, "and this shows the Police's complete disregard and disrespect for the body of the departed." The crowd responded by stoning the Police station, but this was promptly brought to an end by a severe baton charge, witnesses said. Some departing protesters had taken the keys of the vehicles that had stopped because of the block on the Galle Road. This caused severe traffic problems that were not resolved even by late evening, residents said. Meanwhile angry residents caused an obstruction on the Galle Road near the area of Megalla on Wednesday night by placing a tree trunk across the road. Although the Police cleared the road soon after, locals said that unrest in the area later that night prompted them to maintain a continuous armed presence in the area. Police constable R. Sugathadasa who was hospitalised after receiving a blow to his head, later succumbed to his injuries. Around ten other Police Officers are said to have been injured during the protest. Many of the injured protesters are being treated at the Balapitiya Base Hospital. Galle Division DIG B.M Liyanage, told The Sunday Times, investigations had been handed over to the Galle SSP to ensure impartiality. SSP Galle Lasantha Silva said that acting upon the advice of the DIG, he had despatched his Range Crime Unit headed by ASP Premathilaka Hettiarachchi and Chief Inspector L.A Gooneratne to the Kosgoda Police station on July 15. Meanwhile National Police Commission chairman Ranjith Abeysuriya said the commission would be able to take action only if a formal complaint was made to it and so far no complaint had come. |
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