SRI LANKA: A man suffering from mental disorder is severely tortured by officers from the Inginiyagala Police Station

August 16, 2013 SRI LANKA: A man suffering from mental disorder is severely tortured by officers from the Inginiyagala Police Station ISSUES: illegal arrest; detention; torture; justice; impunity; rule of law Dear friends, The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Nanthamuni Arachchilage Asitha Sri Dewanandha is a 34-year-old man suffering from a mental disorder. On 26 May, 2013 he scuffled with some police officers attached to the Inginiyagala Police Station and accidentally injured one of the officers on the head. Following the incident the officers searched until the morning of the 28th when they caught and arrested him. The officers did not consider his mental condition and assaulted him severely and at one point even inserted a bottle into his rectum. This is yet another illustration of the exceptional cruelty practiced by the Sri Lankan police who believe firmly in their ability to escape the due process of the law they are supposed to be protecting. CASE NARRATIVE: According to the information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) Mr. Nanthamuni Arachchilage Asitha Sri Dewanandha (34) of No: T19, Ella Road, Iginiyagala in Ampara District suffers from a mental disorder. He has been under psychiatric care for some time and has been taking regular medication since 2002. Frequently he would not take his medication as it is necessary to take it with food and as his family is very poor adequate food is not always available. Asitha sometimes sought the assistance of his neighbours to obtain food and as they knew of his condition they helped him as much as possible. When he is unable to take his medication he sometimes becomes a nuisance to his family and neighbours and when this happens complaints are made to the police who arrest him and send him to the Angoda Mental Hospital in Colombo. As this has occurred on several occasions it is not possible that the police were unaware of his condition. On 26 May 2012 he scuffled with some of the police officers attached to the Inginiyagala Police Station and accidentally injured one of the officers on the head. The officers from that station did not like Asitha and considered him a nuisance. Following the incident they searched for him until the morning of the 28th when they arrested him. At the time of the arrest the officers were in plain clothes and it was obvious from their demeanour that they did not consider him a mentally disturbed person. At the time of the arrest they assaulted him brutally and at one point, in an act of senseless brutality inserted a bottle into his rectum. His arrest and torture was witnessed by his neighbours who heard him screaming, "Please release me, please,

don't beat me, please don't kill me". When his mother, W.A. Misinona, learned of the situation she went to the police station taking two hoppers and tea for her son but although she tried three times she was not allowed to visit Asitha in the police station. When she asked the reason for not being allowed to see her son one of the officers told her that their senior officer had ordered that he not receive any visitors. She sat under a tree at the police station awaiting a chance to see her son. When Asitha's sister, Nilanthi Sri Devika received information that her brother had been arrested she went to the Ampara Police Station and tried to make a complaint before the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) on 28 April 2013. However, the SSP was on leave so she made a complaint before the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP). At that time ASP asked her "Is your brother is a rascal? Be prepared for the 7th day alms giving to frame a photograph with your brother". This implied that they intended to kill him and that she needed to be ready for the religious ceremonies. Nilanthi begged the officer not to harm her brother and explained that he was suffering from a mental disorder. Nilanthi then went to the Inginiyagala Police Station where she clearly heard Asitha, screaming inside the station. He was begging that they stop assaulting him and that he was mentally disabled. Nilanthi then started beating her head against the wall inside the station and when she was about to faint the officers took her to the Women's Bureau. As a result of Nilanthi's action they stopped assaulting Asitha and at about 11.30 am they sent him to the Iginiyagala Government Hospital by police jeep. At the same time Asitha's mother went to the Iginiyagala Hospital but once again the officers refused her permission to see her son. Asitha was then transferred to the Ampara General Hospital and his mother then went to that hospital but at that time he was receiving treatment in Ward 7 and under police guard. However, she was able to hear that he was weeping. Later Asitha was able to inform his mother that as many as 30 police officer's at the Iginiyagala Police Station had beaten him. They beat him with batten poles and some of the policemen trampled his body. He was assaulted in different rooms from time to time and on occasion was struck with a car battery. In an act of unbelievable cruelty they also inserted a bottle into his rectum. Asitha's relatives have made complaints to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the National Police Commission (NPC) requesting them for an impartial and independent inquiry. However, typically, none of these authorities have taken any action. Asitha and his family members seek justice. SUGGESTED ACTION: Please send a letter to the authorities expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of the brutal torture of a mentally unstable person. Please request the authorities to prosecute those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country for misusing powers of the state. The officers involved must also be subjected to internal investigations for the breach of the departmental orders as issued by the police department. Further, please also request an explanation from the HRCSL, the NPC and the IGP for their failure to

investigate this heinous assault on a mentally disabled person. Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on this regard. To support this appeal, please click here: SAMPLE LETTER: Posted by Thavam