[Asian Human Rights Commission]

The world’s shortest judgment, consisting of just one paragraph, came from the High Court of Kandy after the indictment filed in 2005 and evidence collected over five years of hearing came to an end with a two sentence, one paragraph judgment from the trial court judge at Kandy High Court. Eight witnesses, including four doctors, one Assistant Superintendent of Police and three lay witnesses have given evidence. A translation of this judgment is as follows:

"When looking at all the facts in totality, the court has no other option but to come to the conclusion of wholly disbelieving the evidence put forward by the prosecution. On that basis, the court allows the request of the defense lawyers made under Section 200(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code and without calling a defense acquits the accused."

The trial judge does not give any reasons for his disbelief. His disbelieved witnesses include four doctors. What is the basis on which he has disbelieved any of them? If an appeal court is to look into the reasoning of the judge, where are they going to find it? The judicial disbelief is when a judge considers the evidence and reasons out on the basis of legal principles as to why he disbelieves each of the witnesses.

In this case, there have been five High Court judges consecutively hearing the evidence. The virtual complainant, who was a young boy at the time of being torture at a police station at Ankumbura, gave evidence for several days and was cross-examined for several more days. The trial judge has not summed up his evidence and stated as to why he disbelieves this evidence.

This has happened in a case which has become famous because of long years of campaigning by human rights groups. This is the case of Chamila Bandara. Chamila Bandara’s complaint is given below.

Chamila Bandara had to go so many times to the High Court over 5 years to attend this case. Besides that, the police filed three cases against him at the Magistrates Court in retaliation for his filing a complaint against them. These three cases also took over 5 years and many hearings. At the end, he was acquitted of all the charges, as the police had filed these cases without any basis and any evidence. They were all fabricated charges. Lawyers had to go from Colombo to Kandy to defend this young person and human rights organizations bore the costs.

All this struggle for justice by a boy from a very poor family has ended up in a one paragraph judgment where he is not even told by the judge as to why he is being disbelieved. Due to the harassment of the police, his family had to leave their house in Ankumbura and look for refuge in many places. They had to live in hiding for many years. However, at the end, he does not even get to know the reason why his case has been dismissed by the trial judge.
His complaint is as follows.

Around 4.30-5.00pm, the Gramma Arraksaka came to the victim’s house. At the time there was no one else in the house. He asked the victim to come with him. When the victim tried to close the house before leaving, the Gramma Arraksaka took the key from the victim, closed the house himself, and kept the key. The victim was taken to a place where a police jeep was waiting. There, Sergeant Pathnesiri took hold of the victim and gave him several blows, saying, "you have scolded someone who has helped us to catch some thieves."

The victim was hit hard on the face and the body about ten times. Then he was put in handcuffs. When the victim was taken to the police jeep, he saw one of his cousins, (named Upali) who had also been brought to the place by a police officer. Two of the officers in the jeep were in uniform. One police officer kept the butt of a gun on Upali’s head and said, "you tell the truth, otherwise we will kill him." One Bandula Pathmakumara, (14 years old), was already in the police jeep. Then they were taken to the Ankumbura police station. They got to the police station at about 6pm. The Inspector of Police Senevirathna held the victim, bent his head, and hit him very hard on his spine. Then he kicked the victim on his face with his boots and pushed his head against the wall.

Then the victim was taken to a hall inside the police station, and the handcuffs on one hand were removed and clipped to a bed. The victim was verbally abused in crude language and was told by the same police officer that he, the officer, would come at about twelve and if the victim didn’t tell the truth, he would learn a lesson. The next day (21 July), the officer in charge of the police station came to where the victim was and told him to tell the truth or he would be assaulted. When he said this, the officer who initially arrested the victim was also present.

Then the victim was taken to another place. There was a bed, and the officer-in-charge (OIC) asked the victim to remove his shirt and lie face down on the bed.

There were several officers present, including the ones who were there at the time of the arrest. One person, whose name the victim does not know, and who was not wearing a uniform, sat on the victim’s back. Someone held tight onto his legs. Then the OIC and another officer hit the soles of his feet. The OIC hit the victim with a wicket (used in cricket) and the other officer hit the victim with a cane. He was told to reveal the thefts he had done. He said that he didn’t know anything about any theft. Even after that, the victim was continuously hit on the soles of his feet. Then petrol was put into a polythene bag and poured out, after which the polythene bag was tied onto his face. Then he was told that if he didn’t tell the truth, he would be burned. He was hit for about one hour more. He was told to get off the bed and to keep jumping, but because he did not jump high enough, the OIC hit him with a pole. He said that he didn’t know about any thefts. Then the OIC said that no one knew that the victim had been arrested and, called out, "let us kill him." Then he told the others to hang the victim up.
Then they put the victim’s hands behind his back and tied his thumbs together with a string, then they put a fibre string between his thumbs and hung the victim from a beam on the ceiling. One officer pulled the fibre string so that the victim was raised from the ground. When the victim was raised his hands turned and they became numb. Then the OIC kept hitting the victim on his legs and soles with the cricket wicket. He hit the victim on his thighs, and while hitting in this manner, he asked the victim who his friends were. Because of the extreme pain he was experiencing, the victim said "One is Roshan Deepal and the other is Salier." Because of the unbearable pain he said "though I did not do any thefts I am willing to admit anything." Then he asked the police to cut him down and to untie him. The OIC said "That won’t do. Till you tell us about all the thefts you have done, one by one, we will keep you hanging – we will tie a stone on your legs."

The OIC asked the victim whether or not he went to remove the water motor at Kahattagusthanna. Then the OIC asked whether the victim had participated in the theft from the house near the Muslim Mosque. Because the victim did not want to get more beatings, he said ‘yes’. Then the OIC asked the victim where he had sold the water motor. The victim said "to the DSI shop at Pujapitiya." This was not true, because the victim had never done anything like that, but said that he had only answered in agreement because of the pain.

The victim further said that some shirts which he had said had been given to him by his uncle, and a watch he himself had brought, were in fact stolen goods. And there was an incident where one Asaila had given him some jewellery for mortgaging in order to get some money to take his wife to hospital. These and the other crimes the victim mentioned were carried out by the victim. He did them all in an attempt to escape this unbearable situation.

The police officers then told the victim that they would take him to a jewellery shop at Ambagahathanna. He was told that he should say that two rings and a chain had been stolen by him and given to the third jewellery shop. He was taken down, one hand put in handcuffs, and put on a bed. After about half an hour, four police officers put the victim and another person in a jeep and took them to Salier and put Salier also in the jeep. Salier asked the victim why he endured all this and did not say anything. Then they were all taken to Ambathanna. The police pointed towards someone and told the victim to say that he had given the stolen items to him. It was again threatened that the victim would be hung up by one hand. The victim did as he was told. He didn’t know the person at all, but that person was also taken to the police station. This person was put in a police cell and Salier was put on a bed. The victim later learned that Roshan was also brought to the police stati on.

The victim was brought face to face with these persons and asked whether they had also engaged in the robberies. Because of fear, the victim did not dare answer. Also on that day, the victim was handcuffed and told that he could be made a state witness if he said that the other two had committed the thefts. The victim was told not to tell anyone that the police had beaten him up. If a doctor asked, the victim was told to say that his hands got tied to handcuffs and have become numb. The victim was told that if he mentioned anything about the torture, there would be trouble in the future. The OIC said that "everything is in our hands" and "don’t get things messed up."

On 25 July, one old man came and put ointment on the victim’s hands and Sergeant Gunaseina and another person were present at that time. That night, the victim was put inside the police cell. On 26 July, the same person put ointment on the victim again. That day, they also tied some medicinal herbs on the victim’s hands. On 27 June, Upali, Saman, Salier, Bandula and the victim had their fingerprints taken. After that, they were made to sign in the middle of a page following three or four empty pages. The victim signed as Chamila. At about 6pm they were all taken near to the Ankumbura Hospital and while they waited in the police jeep, police officers went to see the doctor and brought some papers back to them. They were not taken to the doctor.

Later they were taken to the magistrate’s official house, which is near the Kandy lake. The police told the magistrate something and then they were taken to the Bogumbara prison hospital where Salier and Upali were detained. Three others and the victim were taken to the remand prisons at Rajayagahavithiya. Later the victim learned that while he was in prison, his mother had come to see him, but she had not been allowed to see him.

On 30 July the victim was brought to the courts and Nanda Senanayaka, an attorney-at-law, appeared for him. The victim was given ten thousand rupees surety bail. He was ordered to go to the Ankumbura police and sign his name every Sunday. On 31 July, he entered a hospital in Kandy and was under treatment for six days. The doctors told him that a nerve in his left hand had been stretched. He told the doctors that he had been beaten up by the police. His legs were swollen, his hands were numb, and he had headaches. A complaint was made to the hospital police. They asked the victim to go and make a complaint to the Ankumbura police station. This is the same police station where he was assaulted.

He took several months of treatment before he was able to regain the use of his left arm. The doctor who treated him also gave evidence in the trial.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984. The above statement has only been forwarded by the AHRC.