Torture: a common part of Sri Lankan police interrogations

Critics decry brutal, corrupt criminal justice system

Chaminda Priyantha Kumara, 32, was tortured o er a period of two days at Kalutara South Police Station

January 13, 2014 Chaminda Priyantha Kumara, a 32-year-old amputee, was about to be in a 130 !m journey to deli"er heart medication to his wi#e when he was surrounded by men at a bus stop in Kalutara, accused o# the#t, attac!ed and then arrested by police$ Kumara, who was initially accused o# stealin a mobile phone and %&0 rupees 'about ()*+$20,, says that on the ni ht o# -ay 21 last year and the #ollowin day he was brutally tortured, publicly shamed and accused o# additional crimes includin petty the#t, bur lary and murder$ .t the Kalutara )outh Police )tation, he was stripped and chained to a wooden table$ /0ne policeman cho!ed me with a wooden pole and another policeman beat me on the soles o# the #eet$ 1hile 2 was layin on the bench, they used a carpenter3s mallet to repeatedly smash my testicles,4 said Kumara, who lost his le#t arm below the elbow a#ter an electrical

accident in 200&$ .lready 2 am missin an arm, so they threatened to cut o## another piece o# my arm$4 Kumara repeatedly denied the alle ations le"eled a ainst him, promptin in"esti ators to e5periment with "arious other tactics$ )omeone tied a cloth o"er my #ace, co"erin my mouth, nose and eyes$ .nother policeman attached a hose to a tap and then put it at my mouth$ 2 couldn3t breathe because o# the pressure o# the water,4 he said$ /2 was stru lin so much the table #ell o"er twice$4 .s the day wore on he was beaten on the stump o# his amputated arm, dra ed around the room with a hose tied around his nec! and beaten sa"a ely with wooden clubs$ .t one point, Kumara says that a hi h ran!in police o##icial jumped #rom a windowsill and landed on his chest$ .ccordin to ri hts monitors, such incidents are common in )ri 6an!a e"en durin in"esti ations o# minor o##enses$ 7he police do not !now how to in"esti ate a crime,4 said Kin sley Karunaratne, .dministrati"e )ecretary o# the 8ule o# 6aw 9orum, which is a##iliated with the .sian :uman 8i hts Commission$ Conse;uently, he says, police o##icers o#ten conduct in"esti ations /bac!wards,4 ma!in arrests be#ore loo!in #or < or at < actual e"idence$ )o they will ta!e these innocent people to the police station and hammer them until they con#ess,4 he said$ =ue to lac! o# time in policin and in"esti ation o# crimes, >police? resort to short cuts,4 said J$C$ 1eliamuna, a prominent human ri hts lawyer in )ri 6an!a$ Police o##icials, howe"er, #latly deny that torture ta!es place durin in"esti ations$ )ri 6an!a police ne"er practice torture,4 said police spo!esman .jith 8ohana$ /7hey are tau ht to not torture under any circumstances$4 :e went on to claim that police trainin /incorporated all human ri hts concepts4 into its curriculum, citin the (ni"ersal =eclaration on :uman 8i hts, the 2nternational Co"enant on Ci"il and Political 8i hts and the Committee . ainst 7orture$

1e use modern >in"esti ati"e? techni;ues such as =@. e"idence, telephone analyAin , "ideo e"idence,4 he added$ But Kumara3s story is not uncommon amon those arrested #or minor crimes$ 0"er a period o# se"eral days ucanews$com spo!e with a hal# doAen indi"iduals who had e5perienced a ran e o# torture and police brutality$ 0n July 10 o# last year (!!uwatta e Padmasiri, 3&, and his step#ather .$=$ Karunaratne, 4+, were ta!en by #our policemen to a jun le area near their homes where they were tied to a rubber tree and beaten$ 7hey accused us o# ma!in ille al arrac!,4 said Padmasiri$ Padmasiri says that despite searchin his #amily3s properties and #indin nothin illicit, the police o##icers later presented he and his #ather-in-law with #our buc!ets o# arrac!, a popular local li;uor$ 7he police then alle ed that the alcohol had been produced ille ally by the men$ 1e were beaten repeatedly and told to #ess up to bein the owners o# the arrac!,4 said Padmasiri$ 7he pair were arrested and #orced to carry the buc!ets o# arrac! #or about #our !ms, said Padmasiri, addin that he suspects the harassment is connected to a dispute between his #amily and a local businessman who wants to build a road throu h their property$ Chitral Perera, o# Janasansadaya, a local ri hts roup that pro"ides le al assistance and ad"ice to "ictims o# police torture, said that police #re;uently /#abricate4 char es and plant e"idence$ 7hey mi ht plant heroin or cannabis or illicit moonshine4, he said$ /)ometimes they introduce #irearms$4 7o clear additional unsol"ed cases, police will o#ten try to pin multiple unrelated crimes on a sin le suspect, said Kin sley Karunaratne$ 2n Kumara3s case, he was #irst accused o# stealin a mobile phone and %&0 rupees #rom a purse at the bus stop$ 7hen, later at the police station, he was also accused o# bur lin local shops, stealin #rom his wor!place and e"en accused o# murder$ .#ter the torture ended, Kumara was escorted by police to se"eral shops in Kalutara where o##icers in#ormed the businesses3 owners that Kumara was the one who had bur led their shops$ 7hen he was paraded around the

Kalutara Ceneral :ospital where he wor!ed as a substitute health assistant in the lab$ Kumara3s co-wor!ers were told by police that he was responsible #or any the#ts that had occurred in the hospital o"er the pre"ious year and a hal#$ . system without justice .ccordin to monitors, the #actors dri"in these trends run much deeper than the country3s police #orce$ 7he whole criminal justice system is corrupt,4 said Perera$ 7he reason torture is allowed to continue unchec!ed is /because o# the corrupt criminal justice system, because o# the lawyers, jud es and the medical o##icers$4 2n separate inter"iews, Perera and Karunaratne e5plained the "arious loopholes that police e5ploit to a"oid bein accused o# torturin suspects$ Be#ore a suspect can be remanded into custody he or she has to be e5amined by a medical o##icer and presented be#ore a ma istrate$ 7he police !now the corrupt doctors,4 said Perera and et them to si n le al #orms indicatin that a suspect is physically /#it to remand4 e"en i# the indi"idual in ;uestion has been tortured and e5hibits "isible wounds$ Karunaratne says that some medical o##icers are intimidated or coerced into ac;uiescin to such police demands$ Police o#ten wait until ni ht when the ma istrate has already one home, then they will et the /actin ma istrate4 to si n o## on remandin a suspect to jail #or 14 days without actually e"er physically seein him or her, said Karunaratne$ 7wo wee!s later, by the time a torture "ictim is e5amined by an impartial physician, most o# the /bruises or contusions4 ha"e healed, said Perera$ @imal Punchihewa, spo!esman #or the o"ernment #ormed :uman 8i hts Commission o# )ri 6an!a, described torture as a /cultural problem4$ 1e see it not >only? as a problem o# the o"ernment but also with society,4 he said$ /2# some criminal is assaulted e"en the people justi#y >it? and so we ha"e to chan e the peopleDs attitude as well$4 Police re#orms are de#initely re;uired, he said, addin that they would /aim towards4 carryin out educational pro rams to address the issue o# torture$

)ri 6an!a does not ha"e a commitment to eradicate torture,4 said 1eliamuna$ Political will and re-establishment o# 8ule o# 6aw are !ey4 to puttin an end to it, he said$ /2t is important to ha"e a coordinated approach jointly with lawyers, jud es, medical o##icers and law en#orcement o##icers includin the .ttorney Ceneral$E -eanwhile, Kumara has been sac!ed #rom his job at the hospital due to the alle ations a ainst him$ :e has been unable to #ind wor! since$ :is ne5t hearin is scheduled #or .pril 21$