Widespread Torture Reinforces a Deadly Status Quo
On April 2 this year, 26 year-old Muthuwadige Sathsara Nimesh died while in police custody. He was tortured to death at the Welikada Police Station. Nimesh had been arrested on April 1…
Search Results for: torture
Economic Justice and Financial Support for Torture Victims
Victims of torture can include those who survived torture, those who were killed and also their family members. Survivors of torture suffer from the effects of torture for prolonged periods, often for…
Strong Laws, Weak Enforcement: Torture Persists Despite Legal Protections
Torture refers to the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological pain and suffering on someone, usually to extract information, coerce a confession, punish, intimidate or as an act of cruelty….
Disappearances, Torture and Sexual Violence Continue After War’s End
Although Sri Lanka’s civil war ended 15 years ago, members of the Tamil community are still being disappeared and subjected to torture and sexual violence, according to a new report by the…
A Torture Victim’s Story
I have been a torture victim not for hours or days or months but for years. It started in May 1989, worsened by the end of the year and was slightly better…
Upholding Human Rights: Empowering Torture Survivors and Demanding Global Action
In my extensive work with torture victims, particularly within the Tamil community, I have witnessed first hand the unspeakable suffering endured by these individuals and the urgent need for comprehensive support and…
Torture: A Prevailing Uncivilized System in Sri Lanka
“The term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third…
Enabling Systematic Torture in Sri Lanka
The recent economic crisis in Sri Lanka exposed the police as an authoritarian institution. Protestors were arbitrarily arrested by officers in plain clothing without warrants and with complete disregard to due process…
Tortured Under the PTA, the Scars Will Never Heal
Pranavan (name changed), a former militant, was arrested in Vavuniya in April 2009 by people dressed in civilian clothes. Neither he nor his family were given prior warning of his arrest, which…
Arbitrary Detention and Torture by Another Name: The Proposed Bureau of Rehabilitation
Undeterred by the economic crisis, the government continues its attempts to enact regressive, repressive and counter-productive laws. The most recent is the Bureau of Rehabilitation Bill. Lack of legal definitions Persons to…
Bringing Justice and Relief to Torture Victims
That Sri Lanka is a country where torture is rife has been well documented by several international organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) and…
A Cruel Government Supports Torture by Opposing Preventive Law
An amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure allowing the Magistrates to visit places of detention has been turned into a political issue by a section of the government and by some…
Systemic Torture – The Dark Stain on Sri Lanka
When Sri Lanka was ruled by kings and queens, they used 32 types of torture to keep their subjects in line. These included being trampled by an elephant and being impaled on…
The ‘Punishment Bureaucracy’ and the Normalization of Torture and Impunity
Justice Kulatunga During the period March 2020 to 24 June 2021 there were reports of six cases of encounter killings, twenty-seven cases of police violence, eight deaths in police custody, four deaths…
Tackling Police Torture Through A New Law
A Gazette notification was published on March 5 announcing proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code. It creates the obligation for all magistrates in the country to visit police stations situated within…