HRCSL says Police violated fundamental rights of HNDA students

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has held that police violated the fundamental rights of Higher National Diploma and Accountancy (HNDA) students when they used violence to break up a protest in October.

The Commission says in a report released today that the students’ constitutional right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was violated. So, too, was their right to be equal before the law and to receive equal protection of the law.

The Commission has directed the police to pay compensation to the students who were assaulted and injured. It has also recommended the amounts to be granted. Sandeepani Kumarasinghe must receive a sum of Rs. 25,000 while eight other students are entitled to Rs. 15,000 each, it states.

There is considerable erosion in the professionalism of the police force, the Commission observes. It directs the police to study the strategies used in democratic countries to deal with protests and disturbances. It recommends that the police, with the assistance of the National Police Commission, drafts proposals for suitable methods of controlling disturbances while preserving human rights. It directs that a copy of such strategy be presented to the Human Rights Commission by March 1, 2016.

The Commission also calls for the identification of those police officers who violated the rights of students. A report on disciplinary actions taken in this regard must be presented before March 1.