My organization, the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC) has received the following communication from the Centre for Human Rights and Development in Colombo, Sri Lanka. This is a good example of what the ordinary Tamil faces in a country wracked by institutionalized prejudice and the paranoia of security agencies. It also illustrates the risks faced by human rights defenders.
Sinnavan Stephen Sunthararaj, 39, an employee of the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) was abducted on Thursday, 7 May 2009, by a group of unidentified gun-wielding men. His whereabouts are not known.
Mr. Sunthararaj’s family and colleagues believe his unlawful arrest and subsequent disappearance are the result of his work as a human rights investigator. They believe that certain persons aggrieved by Mr. Sunthararaj’s activities have collaborated with the security forces who are known to unlawfully arrest members of the Tamil community under the Emergency Regulations in order to extort money.
On 12 May 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj left his office around 4.30 pm. He was stopped by some STF, police and army personnel on the road leading to Galle Road. He was questioned about the whereabouts of two persons. He was then taken to the Kollupitiya Police Station. He was detained on a Detention Order issued by the Ministry of Defence under Sri Lanka’s Emergency Regulations.
Around 5 pm, his wife received a telephone call from a man who did not identify himself. He said in a threatening tone that Mr. Sunthararaj had been arrested and that in the event he was released by the police, he would not be spared. Mrs. Sunthararaj then went to the Kollupitiya Police Station and was permitted to speak to her husband. He told her that he believed he had given an adequate response to the questions he had been asked but was still being kept in custody. He also said that one of the persons amongst those who had confronted him appeared to be a civilian dressed in civilian clothes and spoke fluent Tamil.
Mrs. Sunthararaj then spoke to the police officers who told her that her husband would be released after the conclusion of investigations. They told her he would be released without charges being framed. Mrs. Sunthararaj learnt later that the same person had gone to the CHRD office (Mr. Sunthararaj’s workplace) on the morning of 12 February 2009 and had behaved in a suspicious manner. A person in civil had entered the office and had made inquiries of matters irrelevant to the organization, while surveying the office, as though he was looking for someone. When Mr. Sunthararaj was arrested later that day, this person threatened him saying: “You have managed to escape this time; I will deal with you after you are released.”
Mr. Sunthararaj’s lawyer visited him at Kollupitiya Police Station the day after the arrest (13 February 2009) and spoke to the Officer-in-Charge of the police station. The Officer assured the lawyer that Mr. Sunthararaj would be released after the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), National Investigation Bureau (NID) and Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) submitted their reports in the matter. The lawyer was also told that since Mr. Sunthararaj had been handed over to the police by the army, it was the CID and TID that were in charge of the interrogation and that the police had no decision making powers.
In late February 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj’s wife received a telephone call which appeared to be from outside Sri Lanka. The caller, who did not identify himself, stated that unless one million Sri Lankan rupees were paid, he would make sure that Mr. Sunthararaj was not released for a long time and that he would also be assaulted and tortured in custody.
On 7 May 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj was produced before a Magistrate and subsequently released that same day around 4 pm. He was returning home with his family around 7 pm when the vehicle they were travelling in was stopped on the Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7, by a group of unidentified persons in a white van.
Mr. Sunthararaj has been employed as Programme Manager at the Centre for Human Rights and Development since April 2007.
Mr. Sunthararaj is a graduate of the Jaffna University where he studied Sociology. He was Assistant Lecturer in Sociology in the University of Jaffna from 2000 to 2001 and served in the same capacity at the University of Colombo from 2001 to 2002. He worked as Coordinator of the District Child Protection Committee, Jaffna, from September 2002 to 2006 and with World Vision Lanka as Programme Coordinator (Child Protection) from April 2006 to April 2007.
During his employment as Child Rights Officer in Jaffna, Mr. Sunthararaj had in his course of duties carried out investigations into several cases of child abuses. He had managed to bring to book several perpetrators, some of whom were members of armed groups. He received several threats to his life. When the threats intensified, he moved with his family to Colombo in 2007.
Sinnavan Stephen Sunthararaj, 39, an employee of the Centre for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) was abducted on Thursday, 7 May 2009, by a group of unidentified gun-wielding men. His whereabouts are not known.
Mr. Sunthararaj’s family and colleagues believe his unlawful arrest and subsequent disappearance are the result of his work as a human rights investigator. They believe that certain persons aggrieved by Mr. Sunthararaj’s activities have collaborated with the security forces who are known to unlawfully arrest members of the Tamil community under the Emergency Regulations in order to extort money.
On 12 May 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj left his office around 4.30 pm. He was stopped by some STF, police and army personnel on the road leading to Galle Road. He was questioned about the whereabouts of two persons. He was then taken to the Kollupitiya Police Station. He was detained on a Detention Order issued by the Ministry of Defence under Sri Lanka’s Emergency Regulations.
Around 5 pm, his wife received a telephone call from a man who did not identify himself. He said in a threatening tone that Mr. Sunthararaj had been arrested and that in the event he was released by the police, he would not be spared. Mrs. Sunthararaj then went to the Kollupitiya Police Station and was permitted to speak to her husband. He told her that he believed he had given an adequate response to the questions he had been asked but was still being kept in custody. He also said that one of the persons amongst those who had confronted him appeared to be a civilian dressed in civilian clothes and spoke fluent Tamil.
Mrs. Sunthararaj then spoke to the police officers who told her that her husband would be released after the conclusion of investigations. They told her he would be released without charges being framed. Mrs. Sunthararaj learnt later that the same person had gone to the CHRD office (Mr. Sunthararaj’s workplace) on the morning of 12 February 2009 and had behaved in a suspicious manner. A person in civil had entered the office and had made inquiries of matters irrelevant to the organization, while surveying the office, as though he was looking for someone. When Mr. Sunthararaj was arrested later that day, this person threatened him saying: “You have managed to escape this time; I will deal with you after you are released.”
Mr. Sunthararaj’s lawyer visited him at Kollupitiya Police Station the day after the arrest (13 February 2009) and spoke to the Officer-in-Charge of the police station. The Officer assured the lawyer that Mr. Sunthararaj would be released after the Criminal Investigation Division (CID), National Investigation Bureau (NID) and Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) submitted their reports in the matter. The lawyer was also told that since Mr. Sunthararaj had been handed over to the police by the army, it was the CID and TID that were in charge of the interrogation and that the police had no decision making powers.
In late February 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj’s wife received a telephone call which appeared to be from outside Sri Lanka. The caller, who did not identify himself, stated that unless one million Sri Lankan rupees were paid, he would make sure that Mr. Sunthararaj was not released for a long time and that he would also be assaulted and tortured in custody.
On 7 May 2009, Mr. Sunthararaj was produced before a Magistrate and subsequently released that same day around 4 pm. He was returning home with his family around 7 pm when the vehicle they were travelling in was stopped on the Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 7, by a group of unidentified persons in a white van.
Mr. Sunthararaj has been employed as Programme Manager at the Centre for Human Rights and Development since April 2007.
Mr. Sunthararaj is a graduate of the Jaffna University where he studied Sociology. He was Assistant Lecturer in Sociology in the University of Jaffna from 2000 to 2001 and served in the same capacity at the University of Colombo from 2001 to 2002. He worked as Coordinator of the District Child Protection Committee, Jaffna, from September 2002 to 2006 and with World Vision Lanka as Programme Coordinator (Child Protection) from April 2006 to April 2007.
During his employment as Child Rights Officer in Jaffna, Mr. Sunthararaj had in his course of duties carried out investigations into several cases of child abuses. He had managed to bring to book several perpetrators, some of whom were members of armed groups. He received several threats to his life. When the threats intensified, he moved with his family to Colombo in 2007.
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