The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has launched an investigation into the death of a Muslim youth who was beaten to death while in custody. T. Kanagaraj, the coordinator of the Northern Provincial Office of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka in Jaffna, said that as a first step in the investigation, statements were recorded from the OIC of the police station where the youth was arrested. Two persons, including the deceased youth, were arrested by the Mannar Police on October 1, 2021 on the Erukalampittu-Pudukudiirippu main…
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Tamil prisoners have no security issues – Minister of Justice
Ali Sabri, President’s Counsel and the Minister of Justice, has stated that the LTTE suspects have stated that they have no problem with the security or facilities provided to them in prisons and that they are requesting to go to the Jaffna Prison thinking of their families. He was speaking to the media after visiting the LTTE suspects and inspecting prison facilities and security. The Minister said that the LTTE suspects had requested for their transfer to prisons in the North not because of a security problem in the city…
Read MoreAkmeemana police who assaulted to buttock
K.G. Nishantha, a 37 year old fisherman residing at Thelkoladeniya Estate, Kottawa has been seriously injured as a result of inhuman assault by the Galle Akmeemana Police. The man was arrested by the Akmeemana Police on September 5th on charges of stealing an old battery. The incident was settled after the owner found the battery there. However, the man has been detained for three days pending further investigations. There he says that he was beaten in a very inhuman manner. He was later released by the Akmeemana Police, after being…
Read MoreRecent Police Atrocities Under Militarization in North and East Sri-Lanka
Militarized violence against civilians in North and East of Sri-Lanka has increased in the recent past. Sri-Lanka brief has also published some of the cases related to torture against fishers by the Sri-Lanka navy. Military involvement and its control in civil administration in North and East is nothing new and along with the Covid-19 pandemic military has gained more power to control the civil life. Further, militarization has given power to police and men attached to intelligence to act unlawfully and to commit various forms of violence against civilians of…
Read MoreSri Lanka government supports torture by opposing preventive law – Basil Fernando
An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the Magistrates to visit places of detention has been turned into a political issue by a section of the government and by some extreme nationalist elements. What this means is that the opposition to the amendment is supporting the continuous practice of torture in Sri Lanka. Torture is considered in international law as one of the most heinous crimes; it is also considered a serious crime in the Sri Lankan law through the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or…
Read MoreMy husband died as a result of assault by Matugama police – says the wife of the suspect who died in police custody!
The wife of the suspect who died in police custody in Matugama has complained to the IGP that her husband had been assaulted by police officers. The National Police Commission, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Attorney General have also been informed in writing this regard. A suspect arrested by the Matugama Police on the 22nd had suddenly fallen ill and died. The deceased has been identified as Bellana Vithanage Saliya Dhanuka, 40, a resident of Matugama, Yatadolawatta. He is a father of three and sells firewood…
Read MoreAnother suspect dies in police custody
A suspect arrested by the Matugama Police has died suddenly. The deceased has been identified as Vidanage, Bellanagama Dhanuka Saliya, (40) who lived in No. 49, Yatadola. The suspect was arrested by the Matugama Police yesterday (22) in connection with a kassippu charge and fell ill. He was rushed to the Wettewa Government Hospital in Matugama due to mucus coming out of his mouth, but he had already died, hospital sources said. The body has been sent to the Nagoda Hospital, Kalutara for an autopsy. Eight suspects have died in…
Read More07 killed in police custody over last 8 months
The police act in a very careless manner towards the suspects who are being arrested and those who are about to be arrested. The most recent example was the Sooriyawewa police chasing a motorcycle and shooting dead two men on information that a gold necklace tied around a woman’s neck had been stolen. The deceased have been identified as Wickramage Wasantha alias Kadawara Putha (32) of Koggalla, Amlantota and Mahesh Krishantha Epa Kankanamlage(34), Akkarakalgoda, Ambalantota. Tissamaharama Police have informed the surrounding police that the two had robbed a woman of…
Read MoreKotawila Police OIC assaulted suspect with cricket stump
A complaint has lodged with the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) alleging that a man in the Kotawila area in Matara had been tortured and assaulted by the Kotawila Police and had injured his right shoulder. The victim was identified as H.G. Dharmabandu, a resident of Sultanagoda-Warakapitiya. According to him, on the night of July 31, Sumith and his son whose reside the house next door had come to the Dharmabandu’s house and got into an argument. Sumith has lodged a complaint with the Kotawila Police against Dharmabandu…
Read MoreJustice for Ishalini
Media conference held on the 03rd August 2021 explaning the contents of the letter sent to the president of Sri Lanka by the Bishop of Kandy and his priests regarding the death of Ishalini and exploitation of children of the plantation sector. “As the Bishop and Priests in the Catholic Diocese of Kandy (Central Province), we were very saddened and shocked to hear about the death of 16-year-old girl Ishalini, a parishioner of St. Anthony’s Church, Dayagama in our diocese. It is our firm conviction that a young girl like…
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