Sri Lanka: three years of imprisonment and torture, but he was innocent
Colombo
(AsiaNews) - "As suspected terrorist, I was taken to the police station
Teldeniya. There, under the eyes of my mother, a dozen policemen beat me with
kicks and punches. I had burns on my legs and wounds everywhere. The police tortured
me all night. " So
begins the testimony of Muralitheran Raaja, familiarly called Murali, a young
native of Kandy (Central Province, Sri Lanka), who was arrested and imprisoned
under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA),
the law allows the detention of anyone with suspected links to LTTE rebels (Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam). After
three years in prison on 8 December 2011, the High Court of Jaffna ordered his
release without bail.
Muralitharan
belongs to a Hindu family, but calls himself a strong believer in Jesus Christ.
Free
again, he found the help and support of Fr. Nandana
Manatunge, who heads the Office for Human Rights of the diocese of Kandy. After
a long process of rehabilitation, the young man decided to share his dramatic
experience during a seminar dedicated to the survivors of the civil war, which
was attended by about 60 people. At
the meeting, held at Fatima Retreat House Lewella (Kandy), he attended with his
parents.
"After
Teldeniya - continues Muralitharan - I was detained in the Manikhinna police station
for four months. On September 25, 2008 I met the Kandy magistrate for the first
time, who ordered my transfer to prison Bogambara. I was never visited
by the medical commission, nor did I ever receive any treatment for my wounds.
Eventually, the prosecutor filed charges against me to the High Court of
Jaffna. After five hearings, the court ordered my release the 8 December 2011, clearing
me of all charges. "
After the young
man's testimony, Fr. Manatunge
spoke: "Prison conditions in Sri Lanka are horrifying. The mere fact of
being locked in an over crowded remand prison is physical and mental torture. I
met Murali when he was in Bogambara prison, and
I could understand how much suffering he had to endure. Many believe that the
detainees should live in inhuman conditions, only to later claims that they
[too] are human beings."
According
to the priest, even if "Murali was strong, he managed to survive, and is
here today to talk with us," it is necessary "to launch a campaign
calling on the government to sign the OPCAT (Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture ),
the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), and make the
country's prisons livable. "
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16/06/2018 09:00
17/10/2022 12:48
