The Government has been urged to address killings and torture by law enforcement officers.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch (HRW) says if the Government really wants to reform its security sector, it will need to take on police abuse, which may only get worse under a proposed new anti-terrorism law that expands police powers.<\/p>\n
HRW Asia Director Brad Adams noted that\u00a0 Sri Lankan authorities would very likely have covered up the recent Jaffna shooting incident where Sundiraja Sulakshan and Nadarasa Gajan were killed, the norm in police abuse cases, if it weren\u2019t for the public outrage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMedia, students, and politicians, especially in the predominantly ethnic Tamil north, refused to accept the official narrative, pointing out discrepancies. As a result of the outcry, the authorities suspended five police officers from service and placed them in custody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On November 15, Sri Lanka is due to appear before the United Nations Committee Against Torture and is expected to make a case about its security sector reforms \u2013 something it agreed to take on after a 2015 UN Human Rights Council review.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut this will be a difficult case to make, in large part because of police abuse,\u201d Adams added.<\/p>\n
Human Rights Watch research shows that arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings by the police are all too familiar, and the government almost never holds officers responsible.<\/p>\n
In June 2014, Indika Jayesinha was shot dead by the police on the Colombo-Kandy road while on his motorbike. The police officer admitted to killing him, but remains on active duty.<\/p>\n
Sandun Malinga, 16, died from police torture in May 2014. His father said the skin on his son\u2019s back had been ripped, revealing raw flesh underneath. Progress on the case has been slow and halting.<\/p>\n
In March 2015, a teenager was stopped near Delgoda while fixing his motorbike. Police took him into custody without any explanation and tortured him until, in his words, \u201cI could feel my skin peeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
He has been too afraid to leave his house since then, has missed school-leaving exams, and has no idea how to overcome his fear. He has been too scared to take any action against the officers.<\/p>\n
The National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka recently confirmed the existence of unofficial police torture centers and called for police to end these practices. In the few cases where action has been taken against the police, it is almost always because of public outcry or the intervention of an overstretched human rights commission.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Sri Lankan government really wants to reform its security sector, it will need to take on police abuse, which may only get worse under a proposed new anti-terrorism law that expands police powers. It shouldn\u2019t be just public outrage \u2013 as with the deaths of Sulakshan and Gajan \u2013 that leads to police accountability. The government has to take the lead,\u201d Brad Adams said. Courtesy: Colombo Gazette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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