Ceylon Today Editorial

Have Police a licence to kill?

28 February 2017

It's not every day the Sri Lanka Police get commended and appreciated for a job well done. Rarely does the occasion arise where the media (or even the general public) praise the Sri Lanka Police for their service. And sadly, this is not such an occasion either.

The week began with a serious black mark on the Sri Lanka Police. Notably becoming the first major Police brutality case reported for this year, a sub inspector and four constables, of the Peliyagoda Police were arrested in connection with the death of a 41-year-old suspect who had died while in Police custody.

The deceased suspect, arrested for robbery last week had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital last Saturday (25).

The Police officers who had admitted the suspect to the hospital had claimed that he had suddenly fallen ill while in Police custody.

The suspect, however, died a few hours after being hospitalized under questionable circumstances, which led to the obvious examination of events that led to the final outcome. The post-mortem examination into the death revealed that the suspect's death has been caused by either dehydration or internal bleeding. Furthermore, the autopsy report had shown that the suspect had serious bruises on his torso which had led to a theory of assault prior to his death.

The fact that he was under Police custody has led to the obvious assumption that the suspect might have been assaulted by his captors and that has caused grievous bodily injuries, thus leading to the arrest of the five Police officers who were on duty at the Peliyagoda Police Station during the crucial period of time. Surely, no one from outside would dare enter a Police Station to murder or maim a suspect in custody.

This incident comes after the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture reported on the still existing culture of Police torture of suspects in Sri Lanka. The report that was made public earlier this year, for the current United Nations Human Rights Council session, which commenced yesterday and will continue till 24 March, has addressed the matter of Police torture of suspects and various other matters rigorously.

Furthermore, the report also calls for an extensive redo of the current legal framework that would demolish this persistent Police torture culture in the country, which is expected to be brought for discussion at the Council meeting. And any layman would note how this latest incident with regard to the Peliyagoda Police Station would reflect badly on the entire country when the report is brought up for discussion.

Surely the government should address these matters more rigorously and immediately before jumping on to the propaganda wagon that paints a pretty picture of the country. Before boasting about 'ensured human rights among all citizens in the country' they should pay more attention to incidents such as this latest one, which could, despite being an isolated incident, have dire negative repercussions in the long-term.

Furthermore, one should also note that the Sri Lanka Government, let alone the Sri Lanka Police or the National Police Commission, publishes no record to the deaths of every person killed by Sri Lankan Police officers. Yes, they would deploy all kinds of resources into investigating into such incidents but it is rarely do we see any long-term permanent steps being taken to resolve the matter of Police brutality and Police torture. The National Police Commission, when inquired about the matter, is likely to say that the Commission is powerless against such cases until the point where someone – the victim, the family of a victim, interested party or a high ranking member of the government – would lodge a complaint on it, where they could intervene. Even then, the most powerful form of action that has been taken against a perpetrator of Police brutality is suspension from work, which needless to say, is temporary and useless.

Most of the cases of Police brutality go unnoticed because the victims dare not file a complaint that could be traced back to them, which will result in more danger to visit on the victim. Or they have lost all faith in the system that allows them no justice for their grievances. This is also correlated with the number of recorded cases that are being investigated. If there are no complaints, there's no investigation and therefore no record of Police brutality being reported. The loophole is easy as that.