SRI LANKA: Former army officer arbitrarily detained and tortured for almost five years without trial

March 2, 2012
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. R D Wickramasinghe, a teacher and former army officer, has been arbitrarily detained foralmost five years. A husband and father of three, Mr. Wickramasinghe was abducted and held in the basement of a building, the offices of the Criminal Investigation Department and other locations under suspicion that he provided shelter to suspected terrorists. Despite the fact that Mr. Wickramasinghe and his wife have categorically denied these allegations, his abductors will not release him. Mr. Wickramasinghe has been refused the right to legal counsel and a fair trial. He has been blindfolded, deprived of proper food and severely tortured. During this time, he was forced to sign a number of documents that he did not understand. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

CASE NARRATIVE:

Mr. R D Wickramasinghe (51) of No: 30/A, "Srikatha", Yatihalagala, Kandy has beenarbitrarily detained in an unknown location for four years and eight months without trial. He is married and the father of three teenage children.

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