Sri Lanka’s Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya has suspended four officers following allegations of torture against a suspect in custody at the Malimbada Police Station in Matara this week.
The officers interdicted include the Officer-in-Charge of the Weeraketiya Police Station, the Tangalle Crimes Division OIC, the Kamburupitiya Police Minor Offense Branch OIC, and a Sergeant attached to the Mount Lavinia Police Station.
The Matara High Court granted the four officers a cash bail of Rs. 25,000 each and two surety bonds of Rs. 5 million each. They have been implicated in the arrest and six-day detention of Dilshan Madhusankha and also accused of allegedly torturing the young man during his time in custody.
An investigation by the Police Special Investigation Unit (SIU) resulted in the Attorney General filing indictments against the officers. This has now set in motion the legal proceedings. While the case was adjourned to 27th February.
In a related case, in June 2024, the Matara High Court sentenced three police officers, including the former OIC of the Tissamaharama Police, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment each for their involvement in the abduction and torture of five individuals in 2003.
The latest incident highlights ongoing concerns about police conduct in Sri Lanka.
A 2015 report by Human Rights Watch documented various torture methods used by the Sri Lankan police against criminal suspects, including severe beatings, electric shock, suspension from ropes in painful positions, and rubbing chili paste in the genitals and eyes. The report emphasized the lack of accountability for such abuses.
