Media Release/ 24th June 2014
The Friday Forum has urged the Inspector General of
Police to respond as a matter of urgency to the current public
concern, including that of the Bar Council, on the deaths that are taking place
in police custody. A particularly shocking recent incident involves the death of
a 17year old minor after assault in police custody.
The
jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, including rulings by the late Justice Mark
Fernando, has held the State accountable under our Constitution to prevent
custodial deaths and torture as a violation of the basic rights guaranteed to
all. In the past, senior Police officials have been summoned to be present in
the Supreme Court. Their responsibility to ensure prosecution and internal
disciplinary procedures for such violence has been emphasized by the Court. It
is regrettable to find civil society organizations and lawyers constantly
reporting that the high incidence of torture and custodial violence continues
unabated.
The
Friday Forum is likewise deeply concerned about the killing, in very suspicious
circumstances, of alleged criminals while under arrest and being escorted by
police officers, who claim rather unconvincingly, that they act in self defence
when their captives turn on them.
The
Police force too have encountered violence and harassment when they seek to
fulfill their responsibilities .The attack and murder of policemen on duty, an
incident of a policeman being forced to kneel and apologize to a politician who
was asked to pay a spot fine for speeding on an expressway, and the assault of a
policeman (now in hiding) subsequent to issuing a fine for a similar
offence, indicate that the State is failing in its responsibility
to protect officials who seek to do their duty. We consider it
the responsibility of the IGP, as the most senior official responsible for
effective law enforcement and the due administration of criminal justice, to
take immediate measures to investigate, prosecute and take disciplinary action
against police personnel who perpetrate custodial violence and torture, and
to safeguard, in a legal manner, those who fulfill their responsibilities to the
public.
Serious
cause for alarm also arises from recent reports indicating abuse or incompetence
in handling weapons carried by police for protection when on duty. 0n the
evening of 12th June, a young man riding a motor cycle was shot at
and killed, and the same evening a three wheeler was shot at and hit a person
standing in the garden of his house.
Friday
Forum has called upon the IGP to act urgently on the proposals made by the Bar
Council and conduct a credible investigation that will help him to take
necessary action to prevent and respond to a very grave phenomenon that can
affect the lives of all Sri Lankans.
