Follow-up of urgent appeal LKA 090210
Harassment and intimidation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received new information and requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source about the harassment and intimidation faced by Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda, the wife of disappeared journalist Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Ekneligoda, after returning from Geneva, Switzerland, where she attended a side event at the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council[1]. OMCT recalls that Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Eknaligoda, a journalist working for the LankaeNews Website, has remained disappeared since 24 January 2010, two days before the presidential election and shortly after he wrote articles supporting the presidential opposition candidate.
According to the information received, on 26 March 2012, a day after returning from Geneva, Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda attended a hearing at the Homagama Magistrate’s Courts (Colombo district), in connection with her husband’s disappearance. The hearing was an inquiry following Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda’s plea to the High Court to summon Mr. Mohan Peiris, Advisor to the Cabinet of Ministers and former Attorney General, to courts to give evidence in relation to a statement he had made in Geneva, in November 2011, to the UN Committee against Torture in which he had said that her husband had not disappeared, but was living abroad.
According to the same information received, during the aforementioned court hearing, Mr. Shavindra Fernando, Deputy Solicitor General, appearing for the Attorney General’s department, questioned Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda at length on matters related to her participation in the 19th session of the Human Rights Council, notably who invited her and who paid for her expenses. He reportedly also asked her why she did take the matter up internationally, including why she complained before the UN. Although the defense objected to the line of questions, the questioning allegedly lasted approximately an hour while there was little said about Mr. Mohan Peiris’ statement on Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Ekneligoda’s disappearance. Furthermore, Mr. Shavindra Fernando reportedly stated that the certified copy of the transcript of Mr. Mohan Peiris’s statement provided by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights could not be taken as a true copy and that it was not proper to summon Mr. Mohan Peiris, as he had made the statement about the disappeared journalist’s whereabouts as an official representative of the Government.
OMCT is gravely concerned about the harassment and intimidation faced by Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda, in particular with the line of questioning in relation to her participation in the 19th session of the Human Rights Council and to the case of her husband brought at the international level. OMCT urges the competent authorities to guarantee her safety at all times.
OMCT also reiterates its call on the competent authorities to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Ekneligoda, in accordance with international human rights standards, the result of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law.
OMCT had earlier been informed about the disappearance of Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Eknaligoda.
According to the information received, on 24 January 2010, Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Eknaligoda disappeared after he left LankaeNews Website office. The last person who heard from him was reportedly Mr. Gamini Perera, who usually drove him home. However, that day, Mr. Eknaligoda allegedly called him on the phone and told him that he had arranged an alternative transport and that he was at Koswatte.
According to the same information, on 25 January 2010, Mr. Eknaligoda’s wife went along with Mr. Perera to the Homogama police station and tried to register her husband’s disappearance, but the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) informed her that the station was unable to register the complaint without a previous instruction by a higher officer and advised her to register with the Koswatte police. Only after Mr. Eknaligoda’s wife insisted did the officer agree to register the incident.
Only once, on 28 January 2010, were Mr. Eknaligoda’s family and neighbors reportedly questioned on Mr. Eknalidoga’s disappearance by an officer from Homagama police station and two officers pretending to be from the Criminal Investigation Division (CID). However, to date, no information has been provided about the status of the investigation.
It is noteworthy that, after Mr. Eknaligoda disappeared, the LankaeNews Website was blocked by the authorities, until after the election. Furthermore, on 28 January 2010, its premises were searched at night by a large number of unidentified persons.
Mr. Eknaligoda had previously been victim of an unresolved abduction. On 27 August 2009, he had been reportedly taken away, blindfolded, and then chained in a cell by two men who were allegedly responding to instructions from someone referred to as a “higher officer”. Mr. Eknaligoda had been reportedly released when the two men were told by the “higher officer” that he wasn’t the right target.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Sri Lanka urging them to:
i. Immediately locate the whereabouts of Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Ekneligoda;
ii. Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda and her family;
iii. Put an end to all forms of harassment and intimidation against Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda and her family;
iv. Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Prageeth Ranjan Bandara Ekneligoda, the results of which must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
v. Ensure that an effective remedy be granted to the victim concerned and his family;
vi. Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Ø Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse, President, Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka, C/- Office of the President,Temple Trees 150, Galle Road,Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 472100 / +94 11 2446657, Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk
Ø Mr. Mahinda Balasuriya, Inspector General of Police (IGP), New Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2 440440, E-mail: igp@police.lk
Ø Secretary, National Police Commission, 3rd Floor Rotunda Towers, 109 Galle Road, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka,Tel/Fax: +94 11 2 395960, E-mail: polcom@sltnet.lk
Ø Attorney General, Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Ø
Secretary,
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No 108 Barnes Place, Colombo 07
Sri Lanka,Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806, Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470,
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
Ø Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva, Rue de Moillebeau 56, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 734 90 84, Email: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Sri Lanka in your respective countries.
***
Geneva, 24 April 2012
Kindly inform OMCT of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply
[1] Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda was one of the speakers during a side event titled “Rule of Law and human rights violations in Sri Lanka: Perspectives from women, minorities and families of disappeared” that took place on 19th March 2012. She was invited to share her perspective as the wife of disappeared journalist Mr. Prageeth Ekneligoda and as a women human rights defenders who has been engaging with various Sri Lankan legal institutions and governmental officials as well as international bodies to search for her husband while also advocating more broadly for democratisation in Sri Lanka and on the plight and aspirations of families of disappeared.
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