Lawyers Collective urges President to terminate Acting IGP appointment

• Group points out that Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennekoon has committed a  criminal offence under the Convention Against Torture
• Demands that Tennekoon and all police officers found responsible in recent FR cases be formally charged
• Stresses appointment of Tennekoon was a complete failure of public trust by all involved 
• Claims failure to take action against Tennekoon will legitimise allowing a person to hold on to public office despite being found guilty of committing crimes 

Civil Society group, the Lawyers Collective in an open letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday requested him to terminate the appointment of the top cop Deshabandu Tennekoon as Acting Inspector General of Police following the recent Supreme Court decision in SCFR 107/2011. 

The organisation noted that the three-judge bench of the Supreme Court had unanimously held that respondents, including the current Acting IGP, had violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner to freedom from torture, unlawful arrest, and arbitrary administrative action that denied equal protection of the law. 

“The violation of the right to freedom from torture is one of the gravest violations in Constitutional Law and the Sri Lankan State's obligations under ratified international treaties and cannot be limited in any way or on any ground,” the Collective noted. 

The group also pointed out that Tennekoon and other respondents have been found liable for acts that in Sri Lankan law amount to a criminal offence under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994. 

The Lawyers Collective therefore demanded that all police officers found responsible in the case must be formally charged with the crime of torture immediately and be suspended from service. 

“It is particularly grave that no immediate action has yet been taken against the said Deshabandu Tennakoon, given that he holds a position of power with influence over evidence and witnesses in an anticipated criminal prosecution against him,” they said. 

Highlighting the President’s duty to the people in this instance, the organisation said the responsible course of action is to terminate the appointment of the said Deshabandu Tennakoon as Acting IGP.

“We remind you that Deshabandu Tennakoon was appointed by you, Mr. President, with endorsement by the Constitutional Council, amid public controversy over his suitability, for this high post. It is a complete failure of public trust by all involved. We note that no attention appears to have been given to the fact that there are many pending cases against this individual and that this particular case was before the Supreme Court,” it noted. 

“As President of our country, who has taken an oath of office to uphold the Constitution, and as a member of the legal profession, we call upon you to recognise the gravity of these violations of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, and international law, and take immediate action following this judgment of the Supreme Court. Failure to do so will legitimise the idea that a person can hold high public office even though he or she has been found responsible for one of the most heinous crimes and abuses of power,” the organisation stressed. 

The Collective also slammed the Public Security Minister Tiran Alles and said the Minister’s endorsement of the Acting IGP due to the Anti-drugs program initiated by him was shocking. “The legitimate law enforcement aim of eradicating illicit drugs cannot be a cover for extrajudicial violence,” the Collective said. 

The organisation also questioned the silence in the media and by civil society over the Supreme Court judgment and said it may indicate a self-censorship not previously evident in Sri Lanka. 

The Collective called on the President to refer the judgment to the Attorney General to charge Deshabandu and others as the failure to act will amount to a reminder that the President will not implement judgments by the country’s Apex Court.