A 29-year-old man arrested in connection with a drug-related investigation has died after being held at the Homagama Police Station, and his family has alleged that police officers assaulted him.
The dead man was identified as Ishara Harsha Kumara, a resident of Kiriwaththuduwa.
His relatives said he was arrested and held at the station. They said they learned of the alleged assault when they went there to see him.
Family members alleged that he could not walk and had to be carried by several officers after being taken for questioning. They further alleged that he had visible injuries and was bleeding when he was returned to the police cell.
Following requests from the family, police officers took him to the Homagama Base Hospital. His relatives said he was already dead by then. They have called for an impartial investigation and for justice over his death.
Responding to the allegations, the Police Spokesman said the suspect was brought to the Homagama Police Station during an operation and then developed a sudden illness. He said the suspect died after being admitted to hospital.
The Police Spokesman said the Assistant Superintendent of Police for Homagama has begun a preliminary investigation into the incident. The police statement did not address the family’s claims about injuries.
Background
Homagama is in the Colombo District of the Western Province, and its police station serves the surrounding suburban and semi-urban areas, including Kiriwaththuduwa.
Sri Lanka’s Constitution guarantees that no person shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and this protection is not subject to any exception. The country also has a law, the Convention against Torture Act, that makes torture a criminal offence.
Deaths in police custody have been raised in Sri Lanka on a number of occasions, and such cases are generally examined through a magisterial inquiry and a post-mortem examination carried out by a Judicial Medical Officer. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka can also look into complaints of custodial abuse.
What it means
The family’s allegations and the police account differ on how the man came to be seriously unwell. Neither has yet been tested by an independent inquiry, and the police have said only that a preliminary investigation is under way.
People who are arrested have the right to be treated humanely while in custody. Relatives who believe a detainee has been harmed can make a complaint to the police, to the Human Rights Commission or to the courts, and the circumstances of a death in custody are normally a matter for the courts to examine.
