On Feb 15, 1:19 am, William Gomes <williamgomes....@gmail.com> wrote:
> February 15, 2012
>
> Ms. Eva Wanasundara
> Attorney General
> Attorney General's Department
> Colombo 12
> SRI LANKA
> Fax: +94 11 2 436421
> E-mail: a...@attorneygeneral.gov.lk
>
> Re: SRI LANKA: Abduction of a torture victim seeking judicial remedies from
> Supreme Court
>
> Dear Ms. Eva Wanasundara,
>
> *Name of victim:* Mr. Ramasamy Prabakaran, 42 year old, a Tamil businessman
> of Indian descent; owns Panama Traders, an electronics store at Majestic
> City Complex in Bambalapitiya
>
> *Alleged perpetrators:* Seven armed men armed with assault rifles onboard a
> 'white van'.
>
> *Date and place of incident: *At 3:30pm on February 11, 2012 close to his
> home in Canal Bank Road, Wellawatte
> *Prior to his abduction:* On February 13, the Supreme Court (SC) was to
> hear his fundamental rights application in seeking judicial remedies due to
> torture and illegal detention of his person. In September 2011, he was
> released after 28 months in police custody where he was illegally arrested,
> tortured and detained since May 2009.
>
> I would like to bring to your notice the abduction of Ramasamay
> Prabhakaran, 42, who was bundled into a white van by seven men armed with
> assault rifles and hand guns. This was two days before a fundamental rights
> case filed by him was to be taken up.
>
> I am aware that prior to his abduction, there had been similar targeted
> attacks on torture victims in the past; firstly, Gerald Perera, who was
> killed a few days before he was to give evidence before the Negambo High
> Court; secondly, Sugath Nishantha Fernando, who also murdered as he was
> pursuing a fundamental rights application relating to torture of himself
> and his family by 11 police officers working in the Negambo area. To date,
> no credible inquiry has been carried out into this murder.
>
> I am deeply concerned by these targeted attacks on torture victims who had
> been pursuing redress before courts for violations of their fundamental
> rights were assassinated, allegedly by the persons against whom they were
> pursuing their complaints.
>
> Recently, in the case of Fernando, the UN Human Rights Committee has
> already expressed in their views on the 17 October 2011 categorically
> stating that Sri Lanka has failed to provide redress for the violations of
> his rights.
>
> I am of the opinion that the abduction of Prabhakaran is a direct affront
> to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He was abducted to prevent him from
> obtaining possibilities of remedies from court, in the similar way it has
> been done in the murders of Perera and Fernando. They were torture victims
> who resorted to the courts for protection in their pursuit of justice.
>
> What happened to Prabhakaran, Perera and Fernando, is a clear message to
> threatening all those victims or any persons who wish to come before the
> Supreme Court and other courts, to petition for court remedies; to place
> their grievances about the violations of their rights; to seek the
> intervention of the judiciary for their protection and for redress. This
> abduction and murders had a chilling effect on the administration of
> justice in Sri Lanka.
>
> It is the duty of the judiciary itself to protect those who come before
> them seeking protection and justice. If the victims of violations desist
> from seeking justice due to the reprisals for doing so, the entire
> administration of justice relating to human rights will hardly be of any
> use. In the circumstances, it is not surprising that the number of
> applications filed before the Supreme Court on fundamental rights have
> declined.
> The defeat of judicial intervention is always an objective of the executive
> who fails to protect the rights of the citizens. The objective of the
> executive is to defeat judicial interventions and attempt to reduce the
> judiciary to administrative functions. The attack on the juridical function
> has taken many forms, including far reaching constitutional changes, and
> the intimidation of witnesses is part of this strategy.
>
> The foundation of law is the recognition of the juridical. If the
> recognition of the juridical is displaced by the administrative, then the
> very foundation of the law is undermined.
>
> Yours sincerely,
> William Nicholas Gomes
> William's Desk
>
> www.williamgomes.org
>
> Download: SRI LANKA-Abduction of a torture victim seeking judicial remedies
> from the Supreme
> Court<http://www.williamgomes.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SRI-LANKA-Abdu...>http://www.williamgomes.org/?p=467
>
> --
> *William Nicholas Gomes*
> *Journalist & Human Rights Activist *
> *80/ B Bramon Chiron, Saydabad,
> Dhaka-1203, Bangladesh.
> Cell: +88 019 7 444 0 666
> E-mail:**William [at] williamgomes.org* <Will...@williamgomes.org>*,
> editorbd[at]gmail.com <edito...@gmail.com>
> Skype: William.gomes9
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> *
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> **Web site :www.williamgomes.org*<http://www.williamgomes.org/>
>
> SRI LANKA-Abduction of a torture victim seeking judicial remedies from the Supreme Court.pdf
> 233KViewDownload
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