FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-144-2017
29 November 2017
A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
SRI LANKA: “Police Fails to Conduct An Impartial Inquiry Into the
Accident that Killed A Doctor”, Lawyer Tells The Court
a fatal accident on the 22nd of September 2017. His car was being
driven from Kandy to Colombo on the Kandy Road. A lorry which had
tried to overtake another vehicle at a very high speed collided with
the vehicle driven by Dr. Herath and he died as a result of this
accident.
A lawyer appearing for Dr Herath’s family complained to the Gampaha
Magistrate the Weeragala Police which had investigated into the
accident has not reported the actual circumstances of the accident and
as a result despite of this being a fatal accident, the suspect has
been released on bail. The lawyer complained that the CCTV cameras of
a nearby hotel has clearly recorded the incident and it could be
clearly seen that the lorry driver has tried to illegally overtake
another vehicle at high speed and in the course of it the lorry has
collided with the car resulting in the death of the doctor. The
lawyer’s complaint was that the police are not acting impartially in
the conduct of the inquiry and is ignoring the most obvious evidence.
The Magistrate after listening to submissions on both sides ordered
the Weeragala police to conduct their inquiry impartially and to
submit their reports to the Court on the basis of actually available
facts.
The widow of the Doctor as well as the lady lawyer who represented
aggrieved party in this case are now afraid of possible retaliation by
the police due to their intervention on behalf of the deceased doctor
in Court. The widow of the doctor has already complained to the lawyer
that she had been threatened by the officer in charge of the Weeragala
Police Station. The lady lawyer also felt that there could be possible
retaliations and stated to the AHRC that she intends to complain to
the Bar Association, the Inspector General of Police and other
authorities.
The threats faced by lawyers who appear against the police in criminal
cases are not infrequent in Sri Lanka. The AHRC has learnt that many
lawyers would not even appear against the police or make any adverse
comments of the manner in which the police conduct inquiries, as they
wish to avoid reprisals for making such appearances. It is only a few
lawyers that openly appears against the police and makes submissions
before courts on the basis of their instructions on the failures of
the police to conduct proper inquiries.
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Legal Affairs made several
recommendations recently with a view to improve the administration of
justice relating to criminal cases. In finding ways to improve the
criminal justice In Sri Lanka, it is also essential to address the
issue of intimidation faced by the witnesses and the lawyers who
appear on behalf of aggrieved parties and particularly the situation
of lawyers wo have to make representations on the defects of the
investigations conducted by the police. Any serious inquiry can be
subverted due to various reasons of which the most prominent reason is
that of corruption. Under these circumstances the serious note should
be taken on this issue so as to enable the surviving victims and the
lawyers to play their role at the court hearings.
# # #
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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