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Report highlights cases of torture

Rule of law ignored, police act with impunity rights, says commission's report.

The Asian Human Rights Commission has released a report documenting 323 serious cases of torture and ill treatment by the Sri Lankan police between 1988 and 2011.

The cases come from over, 1,500 instances of police abuses compiled by the Hong Kong-based rights group during the same period.

The release of the report coincided with the International Day for Victims of Torture on June 26.

According to the commission almost all of the victims were randomly targeted by the police to be detained on fabricated charges.  Torture was used to obtain confessions to these charges, the rights group said.

The commission’s Sri Lankan director, Basil Fernando, says the police seem to be operating with impunity, which could have far-reaching consequences.

“All these cases point to one thing and that is the rule of law has been brushed under the carpet right now. It should be restored back to its correct and magnificent place,” he said.

“Based on Christian teachings it is the Church’s duty to speak out and to work out a strategy to eradicate this menace from Sri Lanka,’ said rights activist Father Sarath Iddamalgoda, yesterday after seeing the report.

“The justice and peace commissions within the Church should educate the public. Sunday sermons can be devoted to this purpose,” he said.

One of the 323 cases highlighted in the commission’s report was that of Gerald Mervyn Perera, a Catholic from Wattala.

Perera was arrested, detained and severely tortured on June 02, 2002 by the local police. The next day he released by police who said Perera’s case was one of mistaken identity. However, Perera was so badly injured he collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital.

After a lengthy recovery a fundamental rights case was filed in the Supreme Court. While the case was pending, Perera was shot by persons unknown and died on Nov. 21, 2004 from his wounds.

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