SRI LANKA: Police officer reportedly rapes a woman while conducting inquiry

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a police officer attached to Hakmana Police Station raped a woman in her house on March 9, 2008. She has complained to the relevant authorities. Please urge them to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation and to provide adequate protection and rehabilitation to her.

CASE DETAILS: (based on the statement submitted by the victim)

On March 9, 2008, at about 11:30am, a police officer attached to the Hakmana Police Station came to Ms. X’s house (name withheld for security reasons) to inquire about the complaint she had made earlier regarding a land dispute with her neighbours.

The officer entered her house and sat in the hall to take down details of the dispute. She told the officer that as a result of the land dispute her neighbours had damaged her plantation and had thrown stones at her house causing the tiles on her roof to break. The officer recorded all these details and gave her a note instructing her to come to the Hakmana Police Station on March 15 for an inquiry. The officer then walked around the house assessing the damage to the plantation and the roof and observing that there seemed to be some damage to the tiles over the bedroom asked her to show him into the bedroom to see it from inside.

When she showed him into the room, the officer suddenly caught her in his arms. Surprised, she tried to get away but he held her tightly and kicked the bedroom door shut. She struggled to get away from him but he then hit her spine hard with his hand and threatened her not to make noise. He then threw her onto the bed. She tried to get up and escape by pushing the officer away from her. However, the officer forcibly raped her and she lost consciousness.

When she regained consciousness, she was so terrified that she was unable to make a move. She saw the officer picking up a used condom from the floor; the officer lingered for some time and then left the house. Even after the officer had left the house, she could not move from the bed.

When her mother came that evening, she found her daughter in bed. Her mother asked her why she had not cooked a meal and she said she did not feel well.

On March 15, she went to the Hakmana Police Station for the police inquiry regarding the land dispute where she met the Officer-in-charge (OIC) to report the incident of rape. However, being frightened by the OIC’s stern mannerism, she only mentioned the complaint regarding the land dispute. The OIC called another officer told him to look into the matter and put it to court. This officer then took up the inquiry.

On March 16, she went to the Deyyandara Hospital to get treatment. She told the doctor who examined her that she had been raped by an officer of the Hakmana Police Station. The doctor advised her to get warded and sent her to meet another doctor. When she went to meet the said doctor, she saw other villagers there. She did not want her situation to be known to them so she left and returned home.

Subsequently, she informed her sister-in-law about the incident of rape and went with her to the office of the Assistance Superintendent Police (ASP) in Matara to report it. They made a complaint to an officer of the ASP office since the ASP was not available. The officer who took down the complaint then called the OIC Hakmana Police Station and notified him of the complaint. The officer also instructed her to go and meet the OIC and gave her a note to be given to the OIC.

However, she was too sick to go to meet the OIC and got admitted to the Matara General Hospital where she received treatment for ten days (March 17 to 27). The hospital police took a statement from her and a female police officer also came and took down a statement. The Judicial Medical Officer of the hospital also examined her.

The victim was discharged from the hospital but she was in still shock and feeling unwell. She did not want to go back to her house and live by herself as she had done earlier so went to live with a relative.

She submitted a written complaint on April 1 to the Chairperson of the  Human Rights Commission, National Police Commission, Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, Senior Superintendent of Police Matara and the Deputy Inspector General (Legal).

On her request to know if any action had been taken against the police officer, the OIC Hakmana Police Station informed her that the said officer had been suspended. However, no further information on the progress of this case has been reported.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the local authorities listed below and demand urgent intervention in this matter and urge them to ensure thorough and impartial investigation. Please also urge them to provide adequate protection and rehabilitation programme for her.

Please be informed that the AHRC has written a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the violence against women calling for an intervention in this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER