The Committee for Protecting the Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) is to hand over a petition to the United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU) offices, and the Switzerland Embassy in Sri Lanka, requesting their intervention to prevent custodial deaths.
Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (29), CPRP Chairman attorney Senaka Perera said that there has been a series of deaths of persons who were in the Police custody in the recent past. Although the respective courts have ruled that some such deaths are crimes, he claimed that the relevant Government authorities have not taken adequate steps to serve justice to the deceased and their families, and to prevent such incidents from recurring.
“Three of the most recent custodial deaths have been ruled to be crimes by the respective courts. There have been many other similar incidents. It is true that the responsible Police officers have been arrested, but it is not enough. There should be an end to this trend of people in Police custody being killed. The Government should serve justice to those who were killed and their families, and should also prepare a programme to prevent such incidents in the future,” he explained.
Speaking further, Perera said that the CPRP, together with the family members of several individuals who died in Police custody, will hand over a petition to the UN (intended to be handed over to the Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, and Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) and EU offices in Sri Lanka, and the Swiss Embassy tomorrow (1 December), seeking their intervention to prevent custodial deaths. “We have been raising our voice against these incidents for a long time, but the relevant local authorities have not intervened enough. That is why we are seeking international intervention now.”
A number of incidents of suspects dying while in Police custody have been reported over the past. The death of R. Rajakumari while in the Welikada Police custody, Samantha Preethi Kumara while with the Police Narcotics Bureau and that of Nagaraza Alex while in Vaddukoddai Police custody are more recent examples of such incidents. The respective courts ruled that all three incidents were crimes and issued orders to arrest the Police officers involved in the incidents and bring them before court.
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