FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-103-2017
21 August 2017
AHRC-STM-103-2017
21 August 2017
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
There is a saying that “if you are bitten by a cobra there is hardly
any cure”. The situation of the Inspector General of Police (IGP)
violating the law and committing an act of torture appears to have the
same effect. This is not because of a defect of the Law in Sri Lanka.
It is because of the manner in which the Law is being enforced. A
video showing the IGP holding a police officer by his collar has been
seen by many people after it was shown on the Internet. As a result,
the public is alarmed leading to media discussions about the incident.
However, up to now no legal action has been taken against the IGP.
Given the normal practice in Sri Lanka there is hardly any reason to
think that any action will be taken in the future.
This situation raises a number of serious legal issues.
The Law in Sri Lanka is based on the fundamental premise that no one
is above the Law. This fundamental tenet was established through
centuries of struggle for the displacement of the Monarchy and to
establish Parliamentary Democracy. That no one is above the Law is the
foundation on which the whole legal system stands. Every attempt to
undermine this principle is a serious threat to the legal system as
whole. The Sri Lankan Police Institution is the primary institution
that has been created to protect the Rule of Law. There is no other
function that the Police, as an institution, have to accomplish which
is outside this fundamental obligation. Every function that the Police
are expected to carry out, can be justified only on the basis of its
duty to protect this fundamental principle.
Thus, the very existence of the Police Institution depends on the
enforcement of the Law that states that everyone is equal before the
Law.
The offence that the IGP is alleged to have committed is torture.
Torture was recognized as an offence in Sri Lanka by the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment Act, act No: 22 of 1994. Under this law, the punishment for
the commission of an act of torture or ill-treatment is seven years
imprisonment and a fine of not less than ten thousand rupees. Up to
now a number of police officers have been found guilty of committing
torture and have been punished under this Act. For many other officers
their charges are pending in the Courts. The fact is that many police
officers have been punished under the CAT Act but the highest officer,
the IGP, has not even been investigated for his alleged illegal
behaviour. The public revelation relating to the commission of the
same offence revealed a double standard in the enforcement of the Law.
The actual question that has arisen is similar to the proverbial
question of who is to bell the cat? Who has the right and duty of care
to investigate the highest officer of the policing service if he is
alleged to have committed a crime? There apparently is no answer
forthcoming. However the responsibility for the actions of the IGP
lies with the President, the Prime Minister and the Government of Sri
Lanka. The Government itself exists only on the foundation of Law. If
the Government fails to takes steps to enforce the Law it puts the
entire legal system in jeopardy.
This issue of enforcement of the Law affects the good name of the
policing service whose sole justification for its existence is the
enforcement of the Law.
This issue should be of concern to everyone who wants to see that the
Sri Lankan State carries out its fundamental obligation to enforce the
Law. This includes punishing the alleged perpetrators and not
affording them special consideration because of their higher status.
# # #
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) works towards the radical
rethinking and fundamental redesigning of justice institutions in
order to protect and promote human rights in Asia. Established in
1984, the Hong Kong based organisation is a Laureate of the Right
Livelihood Award, 2014.
Read this Statement online
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