Brutes!
Why do Sri Lanka's police officers resort to torture?
Many officers are found guilty in FR cases, but only a few are prosecuted

By Chandani Kirinde and Tania Fernando
Torture and inhuman and degrading treatment of suspects and even their family members have become a routine practice in our police stations with a majority of police personnel giving little consideration for the rights of the suspects and acting in a manner as though they have a right to manhandle persons in custody.

Time and again, the media have raised the issue of police torture, but it is yet to be seriously addressed by the government which is bound by the international torture convention.

Basil Fernando, Director of the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, said suspects getting beaten up in police stations is a common practice in Sri Lanka.

The AHRC and the London-based Amnesty International are among the human rights groups that have taken up this subject with government leaders. Torture and rape in police custody were matters a visiting AI delegation took up when they met both President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently.

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC), too, has been flooded with complaints of police brutality, with the case of a Sapugaskanda youth who died while in custody recently being one of them.

Besides the HRC, the victims can also file fundamental rights petitions in the Supreme Court, but redress is slow and even when they are financially compensated, scars of the torture and humiliation last a life- time.

The 19-year-old-Lalith Rajapakse was allegedly tortured by the Kandana police in April this year. His fundamental rights petition has now been granted leave to proceed by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Rajapakse was arrested in connection with a robbery on April 18. Two days later, he left the police station in an unconscious state with the help of a relative who took him to a hospital, according to the petition.

It is alleged that Mr. Rajapakse was kicked and beaten with the wooden handle of an axe and his soles were hit with a blunt instrument.

The victim has recovered to some extent from the horrid wounds but he still suffers from memory loss. He lives in hiding, fearing more threats to his life as the court case proceeds.

Equally gruesome is the case of 39-year-old Siriyalatha Herath who was taken to the Wariyapola police station on March 8 for questioning. The police believed she had some information regarding a robbery at a temple in the area. She was kept at the station for two days during which time she is alleged to have been sexually abused and tortured by the Police. Ironically, the alleged gruesome acts took place on International Women's Day.

According to AHRC director Fernando, a majority of police officers resort to torture to extract information from suspects and expedite cases. (See box for story of a victim, who was a mistaken identity.)

"The level of criminal investigation in the police department has come down. Although crimes have increased in sophistication, the criminal investigating methods remain the same.

The superiors put pressure on the junior men who cannot work under pressure and the result is this kind of behavior by them," Mr. Fernando said.

He cited the case of Denmark which once insisted on recruiting persons of a well built physique to the police force but it has now changed this policy. "In Denmark, the police realized that the best way to get information from suspects was talking to them. The way the suspects are treated in Sri Lanka, many of them would be not in a position to say anything after they are tortured," he said.

Although those recruited into the police are taught the right procedure to follow when arresting suspects, it is seldom applied. "The police also work under a lot of pressure. But whenever a complaint of torture is brought to our notice, we do act against those responsible," a senior police officer said.

The proper procedure during an arrest would be to first touch the person, then explain the charge and then arrest him.

But this procedure is impractical, the senior police officer said. "Because it gives ample opportunity for the suspect to bolt."

A special investigation unit has been now set up under the IGP with a senior DIG and an SSP assisting to look into complaints against police personnel.

Mr. Fernando said that the laws regarding arrest and torture must be put on display at all police stations so that persons arrested will know their rights while police personnel will learn to respect them.

DIG Kotakadeniya under police fire
A group of senior police officers led by Police Chief Lucky Kodituwakku came forward last week to tell their side of the story and defend themselves against what they called "baseless and unwanted allegations" levelled at them by a senior DIG.

Inspector General Kodituwakku charged that Senior Deputy Inspector General H. M. G. B. Kotakadeniya made these allegations out of frustration on not being promoted to the rank of IGP and his remarks were damaging the morale of the police force.

The IGP made the (rare) public appearance along with at least 15 DIGs at the conference room of the Police headquarters on Thursday and exposed the rift involving the department's senior officers. DIG Kotakadeniya was out of the country at the time on an official assignment.

"We are all honorable persons. There maybe a few corrupt people in the police force just as they are in any other department but he cannot accuse every policemen other than himself of being corrupt," the Police Chief said.

He said he had given seven days for Mr. Kotakadeniya to explain why he violated the standard department procedure when he made the public statements without prior approval from him.

About 30 DIGs also have signed a letter addressed to the Prime Minister and the Interior Minister stating that Mr. Kotakadeniya's allegations against the Police Department were unacceptable.

The IGP said DIG Kotakadeniya had been in charge of crimes and crime Intelligence for the past three and a half years but he had failed in his area and was making allegations against others. "People will not get fooled by his remarks," the IGP said.
The IGP also made use of the news conference to put a personal record straight. He said that an investigation conducted by the Commission for Bribery and Corruption regarding his son, ASP Ranmal Kodituwakku's educational qualifications, had been concluded and his son had been cleared. The investigations had been conducted based on a petition.

DIG Chandra Fernando explaining the matter said the petition had claimed that the IGP's son did not have the proper qualifications to join the police force to the rank of ASP, but inquiries conducted revealed that he had the necessary qualification with degrees from a recognised university in the United States.

Indra de Silva, DIG (Range 3) said he was on the interview board that examined Mr. Ranmal Kodituwakku. " He was far above others," he said.

The other senior police officers, too, levelled several charges against DIG Kotakadeniya. They claimed that the DIG owned several private buses and a hotel in Nuwara Eliya and he was seeking cheap publicity. Some said Mr. Kotakadeniya's behaviour could be a result of him going mad before self destruction.

Senior DIG (Administration) T. E. Anandarajah said DIG Kotakadeniya was seeking nothing but cheap publicity and playing to the gallery.

"Even our children are asking us about these allegations. None of us is corrupt. We are men with self-respect," one DIG said.

Another went on to show a manual of the Australian police force in which it was stated that they too accept bribes in that country but he was promptly interrupted by the IGP who said the Sri Lankan police force did not follow the Australian practice.
Similarly another DIG charged that there were corrupt officials in the Excise and Customs as well. "In the Customs, there are those making millions illegally and no one talks of them. Only when a constable allegedly takes Rs 50, it is being highlighted," he said.

DIG (Elections) Gamini Navaratne blamed the media for carrying only one side of the story with a bias against police personnel. He was however told by journalists that contacting certain police officers to get their side of the story was no easy task.

Police Chief Kodituwakku said "DIGs and SSPs allege that Mr. Kotakadeniya's remarks are not conducive to discipline.

Torture victim : case of mistaken identity
The Wattala Police is reported to have told 39-year-old Gerald Perera that he was not the person they were looking for in connection with the recent triple murder at Alwis Town. But it was too late. Mr. Perera had already paid a terrible price for a mistaken identity. He was mercilessly beaten allegedly by the Wattala police officers.

Today, Mr. Perera, a father of two young children, is fighting for his life in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Colombo.

His wife and relatives who keep vigil outside the ICU related the horror he was subjected to. It all began on June 3. A group of men, believed to be policemen in civvies, raided his Gampaha home around 11 a.m.

His wife Padma and their three-year old son who were in the house were bundled into the civilian jeep they came in. They were taken to a bus stand nearby and kept there.
Mr. Perera who worked on a shift basis arrived around noon. Some of the men who stayed in the house pounced on him and took him away. The wife and child were allowed to go home but she was not told where her husband was being taken or why he was arrested.

According to his brother-in-law C. Abeywickrema, the men had used abusive language on the wife in the presence of her child. The child who is visually impaired and suffers from epileptic fits had been crying in fright as the events unfolded.

What happened next to Mr. Perera has been recorded in a statement he gave the Kompannaveediya Police. The men had taken him to the Wattala Police station, tied his hands to the back and hung him upside down and beaten him ruthlessly asking him for the whereabouts of several suspects who were wanted in connection with the Alwis Town triple murder on June 2.

Mr. Perera had been arrested because a relative of one of the dead men had said he believed Mr. Perera knew the whereabouts of the hitmen.

In the meantime, the wife had alerted a few of Mr. Perera's friends and it is their inquiries that finally revealed that he had been detained at the Wattala police station.
Mr. Perera's brother, Ranjith, who went to the Wattala Police to verify the claim, said:
"I went there around 5 p.m. But I did not see him in the cell. I sat on one of the benches outside and waited. After some time, I saw my brother being taken to the OIC's room, helped by two policemen. I could hardly recognize him. His face was swollen and dark. On the way to the OIC's room, he told me, "I was hung and beaten."

"Later he was taken upstairs and I was allowed to speak to him. He told me he was hungry. I bought him Kottu Roti and went home. The next day I went to the Police station with the Wattala Pradeshiya Sabha chairman and the vice chairman whom I knew personally. It was only after their intervention that the police released my brother saying that he was not the person they were looking for but they had arrested the wrong man due to misinformation.

Although Mr. Perera did not have many external injuries, the following day morning he complained of severe body aches. He was first taken to an Ayurveda hospital but doctors there advised he be immediately taken to another hospital. On June 4 he was admitted to a private hospital and by the 15th of June his condition worsened and he had to be put on a life support system.

Doctors at the private hospital detected serious injuries to his internal organs including his lungs and kidneys as a result of the beating.

The hospital charges during the past four weeks now exceeds one million rupees and given the nature of his injuries, he cannot be transferred to a government hospital either.

"I think we will have to sell whatever land we have to pay the bills but even with that the doctors fear he may never fully recover. He may even lose the use of his hands," his brother Ranjith lamented.
A fundamental rights case has been filed on his behalf.
A senior Police officer said the case has been handed over to the CID for investigation but most of the policemen involved in the alleged torture and cited as respondents in the case continue to be in active service.

Rage of vengeance
East limps back to normalcy after cycle of violence
By Shelani Perera and Nilika de Silva
In the aftermath of three days of violence in the eastern town of Valaichchenai that left 11 people dead, more than 200 injured and over 100 shops damaged, tension and fear still prevail as residents try to get on with their lives.

Police and army still continue to guard the area, as residents fear there could be a recurrence of mob violence.

While, Tamil and Muslim parliamentarians have called for a series of confidence building measures and an immediate probe on one of the worst cases of rioting to have rocked the east, the government has made arrangements to pay compensation to those affected.

Secretary to the Ministry of Eastern Development, Dharmasena Dissanayake said two committees have been appointed to prepare the compensation report.

He said the committees will comprise the Divisional Secretary of the area, a building engineer from Batticaloa and a project officer. Mr. Dissanayake who had visited the scene of the violence said the report would take time as the damage was extensive.
He said in Vallaichchenai the damage was estimated around Rs. 500 million, while the damages in Mutur and Kinniya where the violence first erupted was estimated around Rs.50-60 million.

For the people of Valaichchenai who have experienced similar riots- the worst of them being in 1985- monetary compensanation alone offers little consolation. They want an assurance from the government, the LTTE and other Muslim groups that there won't be a recurrence of such similar violence.

The three day violence in Valaichchenai- a predominantly Tamil village amidst Muslim villages- erupted on June 27, a week after Tamil and Muslim mobs had clashed in Muttur. Fingers have been pointed at the LTTE and opposing Muslim groups for the violence while police have come under fire for not quelling the riots.

The Valaichchenai incidents followed a hartal that had been organised by Muslim groups to protest against incidents in Mutur where a mosque was damaged after an attack on an LTTE area office.

Investigations have revealed that as the hartal was in progress, a group of people believed to be LTTEers had arrived in a bus and attacked the protesters.

This had triggerd off retaliatory attacks which left about 35 Tamil shops and 63 Muslim shops burned or damaged. Some of the shops had been looted too.

In one of the more serious incidents, two Muslim brothers who were preparing a meal ironically for a Tamil wedding ceremony, were allegedly abducted by Tamil mobs and killed.

The inmates of the wedding house horrified over the incident had not partken the meals, after being helpless to prevent the incident.

The following day angry mobs had prevented the victims' relatives from exhuming the bodies for last rites.

Clashes had also erupted after prayers on Friday, where grenades had been hurled by rival groups.

Villagers alleged that police were inactive for several hours probably because they thought their intervention would violate the ceasefire.

Meanwhile Tamil parties have called on the government to hold an independent inquiry headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge.

Condemning the violence, TULF Parliamentarian Joseph Pararajasingham said, "The culprits must be brought to book. We want the Government to hold an independent inquiry as the damage to property is immense. There are no shops left in Valaichchenai."

The people still appeared to be afraid, as they tried to pick up the pieces and get back to routine life.

Valaichchenai District Secretary C. Punnyamoorthy said state institutions resumed work by Monday but shops remained closed till Friday.

Chairman Rehabilitation of Persons, Property and Industries Authority (REPPIA), S. Subairdeen, assured that compensation would be paid to victims within a month.
TULF General Secretary S. Sambanthan who visited Mutur last week said he had met several victims who claimed a group known as 'Osama' was behind the violence.

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