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ALRC Launches a Special Report on Torture Committed by the Police in Sri Lanka
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The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has announced the release of a special report, 'Torture committed by the police in Sri Lanka', under the auspices of its bimonthly publication article 2 (vol. 1, no. 4), in Hong Kong SAR, today, Thursday, 3 October 2002. It is available now at <http://www.article2.org/index.php>.
'Torture committed by the police in Sri Lanka' is the first serious attempt at recording and analysing the routine use of torture by the Sri Lanka Police in day-to-day criminal investigations. It examines how a culture of barbarity has permeated policing at all levels throughout the entire country. Although in 1994 Sri Lanka made torture by a state officer a serious offence punishable by not less than a seven-year sentence, to date no one is known to have been charged under that legislation.
The report includes 22 detailed case studies of torture by the Sri Lanka Police. It refers to a total of 31 separate incidents of torture, involving 39 victims. The report also includes a commentary on the police crisis by the Executive Director of ALRC, Mr Basil Fernando, two letters on torture in police stations by ALRC's sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Sri Lankan Minister of Interior, the full text of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No 22 of 1994, and detailed recommendations to address the crisis.
Among the key recommendations of the report are that the Government of Sri Lanka must strictly prosecute all cases of torture perpetrated by state officers, and establish a special unit for immediate and adequate compensation of torture victims. It also contains extensive recommendations to the Attorney General, the National Human Rights Commission, Sri Lankan lawyers and doctors, and civil groups. UN agencies and international donor organisations have likewise been called upon to insist on measures by the Government of Sri Lanka to eliminate torture, and support genuine efforts to this end.
Professor of Law at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Dr. Michael C. Davis, has commented on the report as follows: "This report is of great significance in the effort to close the gap between international commitments and action. Publicity is often the only instrument available to close this gap. But too often these kind of abuses are ignored when countries are off the front page of the international media. In this case we are talking not only about a gap between international standards and local practice but also a gap between local laws and local enforcement. This is precisely the kind of problem that Article 2 aims to address. In the absence of local and international enforcement, attention to this report is vital to progress in this important area."
Director of the LLM Programme in Human Rights at the University of Hong Kong Faculty of Law, Dr. Lyal S. Sunga, has commented on the report as follows:"The report details ?torture perpetrated by the police in Sri Lanka, not in the context of the longstanding armed conflict that has raged there, but in the course of 'regular' business. Drawing on authoritative, publicly available sources, such as the reports of the Judicial Medical Officer, official Supreme Court applications, complaints, orders and judgments, and other judicial records and testimony, the ALRC report uncovers a shocking pattern of human rights abuse." Dr. Sunga goes on to say, "Now that peace seems to be at hand in Sri Lanka, the Government must seize the opportunity to re-establish human rights and the rule of law, not only in former conflict zones, but throughout the country. The immediate challenge for the Government is to show its seriousness actually to implement the Convention against Torture Act, and to compensate victims for the immense suffering they have endured."
For further information please contact Basil Fernando, Executive Director, ALRC or Sanjeewa Liyanage, Executive Secretary, ALRC.
02 October 2002, Hong Kong
Asian Legal Resource Centre
**Note for e-mail recipients: Due to cross posting, we apologize if you receive multiple copies of this media release.
Posted on 2002-10-02
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