Terminate Deshabandu’s appointment: Lawyers’ Collective

• Lawyers’ Collective is also of the view that all police officers found responsible must be formally charged with torture 

By Lakmal Sooriyagoda  

The Lawyers’ Collective, a prominent legal advocacy group in Sri Lanka has urged President Ranil Wickremesinghe to immediately terminate the appointment of Deshabandu Tennakoon as Acting IGP in view of the recently delivered Supreme Court judgement.   

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court in Sumangala v Bandara and Others, unanimously held that respondents, including the incumbent Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon have violated the fundamental rights of a former army soldier to freedom from torture, unlawful arrest, and arbitrary administrative action that denied equal protection of the law. Subsequently, the Supreme Court ordered the National Police Commission (NPC) and other relevant authorities to take appropriate disciplinary action against newly appointed Acting IGP Deshabandu Tennakoon and other police officers.  
In an open letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Lawyers’ Collective draws his attention to the fact that these officers including Deshabandu Tennakoon, have been found liable of acts which in our 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 is of the view that all police officers found responsible must be  
formally charged with the serious crime of torture with immediate effect and they must be suspended from service.  
“The office of IGP, and thereby the powers of Acting IGP, can only be directly held accountable by your office as President. Your duty to the people of Sri Lanka is clear, and the only responsible course of action is to terminate the appointment of the said Deshabandu Tennakoon to Acting IGP, refer the judgement to the Attorney General for urgent consideration of serving charges on all found liable, and refer the judgement to the National Police Commission for disciplinary action” the letter added.

The Lawyers’ Collective observed that a failure to act amounts to a daily reminder to the public that the President would not implement a judgement of the highest court of the country which has exercised the judicial power of the people under our constitution.

“It is shocking that within days of the judgement that found Deshabandu Tennakoon liable for torture, Minister of Public Security Tiran Alles publicly endorsed Tennakoon’s leadership of the police and even insinuated support for police killings in enforcing Sri Lankas laws on illegal drugs”, the letter further added.

On behalf of the Lawyers’ Collective, a group of President’s Counsels including Rienzie Arsecularatne, Upul Jayasuriya, Dr. Jayampathy Wickramaratne, Geoffrey Alagaratnam, M.A. Sumanthiran, Dinal Phillips, Saliya Pieris, S.T. Jayanaga, Nalin Dissanayake, Prof. Savitri Goonesekere, Prof. Deepika Udagama, Prof. Camena Gunaratne, Attorneys-at-law, Upul Kumarapperuma and seven others signed the letter.