We write this to encourage the victims of such crimes, that may they follow the example of this victim and not suffer in silence….. If Judicial intervention is not sought in similar cases, perhaps this type of criminals may continue to live with both mother and the daughter…. In Sri Lanka, the Kegalle High Court Judge Hon. Ms. Jayaki de Alwis, sentenced the accused for 16 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 10,000/- on the 26th January 2023 in the rape case of a child. Apart from that, the Judge ordered Rs. 500,000/= as compensation to the victim, if not paid another 05 years of imprisonment.
In the absence of her mother, the victim was raped by her own father in 2010 when she was just 13 years. Victim had one younger brother and a younger sister both were looked after by the victim while the mother was working as a domestic helper in Middle East. Victims’ mother has suffered immensely in the hands of her husband, often she was assaulted, denied of food and was finally forced to leave the country and earn. The Victim was raped by her father on many occasions in 2010 until she became pregnant. Perpetrator, father has taken the victim for an abortion but the request was overturned since she was 04 months pregnant by then. Victim who was panicked by her pregnancy, has brought her ordeal, the torture and rape to the notice of her class teacher. With the intervention of the school authorities and the police, the victim was sent to the care of the probation by the Magistrate, while the accused was arrested and remanded. Since then, the victim was under the care of the probation at the childcare service center. It was traumatic to her to leave her younger sister and brother in the absence of her mother. The traumatic events that unfolded with her mother’s departure made her depressed and thus on 03 occasions she has attempted to commit suicide while she was at the childcare service center. Finally, the victim delivered a baby girl on the 31st January 2011 when she was just 14 years of age. Even after giving birth to the child, the victim has suffered being a child herself. When the mother of the victim was informed of the unfortunate events, she returned to Sri Lanka in 2011. The perpetrator, the father of the victim who was released on bail was living with another woman. Victims’ family was by then left high and dry without any source of income and victim’s mother was forced to work as a casual labour in road construction sites, selling bed sheets, selling dry fish, working in garment factories etc. In spite of her poverty stricken life, in 2014, the mother of the victim decides to adopt the granddaughter and has taken the custody of the child who with special needs. The victim was brought to Kandy by the Human Rights Office in 2014 and since then she was provided protection, security, counseling, educational, legal assistance and once again the victim walked to the school as a school girl focusing on her education and sat for the GCE A/L exam (University entrance exam) in 2016 while being in a convent. The rape case against the perpetrator was called in at the Ruwenwella Magistrate court from 23rd December 2010 to 2015 on 33 different days and it was committed to the Kegalle High court. Since 2019 the case was called for trial at Kegalle High court on 15 days for which the victim was accompanied by HRO Director and the staff. Often the perpetrator absconded the court and presented medical certificates therefore, the accused was remanded when the case was called on the 15th December 2022 until the case was taken for trial on the 26th January 2023. On the 26th January 2023 the case was taken for trial and the indictment against the accused was read out with 03 charges of rape and the accused was asked whether he is guilty. The lawyer appearing for the accused accepted the charges against him, perhaps there was no option as the DNA test proved that the child of the victims was his. The lady Judge who was at the bench was further surprised to learn that the accused is living with another woman and she too has an infant of 1 ½ months. The Judge then said that the accused has to be imprisoned not only for this crime but also for the crimes that he has committing against innocent women. The lawyer appearing for the accused requested a short sentence because he has pleaded guilty and will promise to take care of the victim. The counsel appearing on the interest of the victim objected and said the accused should not further complicate the life of the victim by trying to assist the victim. Accepting this request, the Judge warned the accused not to interfere in the life of the victim hereafter. On the day the case concluded, on the 26th January 2023 the victim was accompanied to court by the Director of HRO and the staff members. Senior counsel Mr. Titus Manatunga and Ms. Upesksha Perera appeared for the interest of the victim. Although an ordeal of a young school girl judicially ended due to her courage and consistent efforts in seeking Justice, sufferings of many other girls continue due to the undue court delay in judicial system in Sri Lanka. The victim received Justice at a high cost, sacrificing her childhood, sacrificing her family and her own life. Sincere appreciation to our HRO legal team who stood by her in court, the religious who protected and provided accommodation & Education, HRO staff & the support group for journeying with the victim and her mother for almost 10 long years. We write this to encourage the victims of such crimes, that may they follow the example of this victim and not suffer in silence. If Judicial intervention is not sought in similar cases, perhaps this type of criminal may continue to live with both mother and the daughter. We salute the victim for her courage, for her consistency in seeking Justice for 13 long years and for all those who assisted her especially the Lawyers who appeared for the victim; Senior counsel Mr. Titus Manatunga, Mr. Suren D. Perera, Ms. Geeva Nilmalgoda, Mr. Madawa Eriyagama and Ms. Upesksha Perera.
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The grinding poverty of tea plantation families has left young girls vulnerable to sexual abuse, rape and trafficking, with a growing number of teens being trafficked as modern slaves. Hundreds of young girls in tea plantation districts fall victim to traffickers every year. Tea plantation workers lack knowledge about the Criminal Justice System and the way they should make a complaint to the police. Often the language is a barrier at the police and also in courts as tea plantation workers are Tamil with an Indian origin. They know very little about the rights of their children against any form of abuse, which has placed them in very vulnerable situations in their social setup. Further this community is most likely to succumb gender based violence and child abuse, yet they do not seek redress due to cultural values. Rita ( 17 ) - Talawakelle Uma Devi ( 23) - Nawalapitiya Diviya (13) - Rattota (Matale) Ishalini (16) - Dyagama However, we came across some daring courageous young girls who fought for Justice and Redress and continue their struggle for Justice for years with the court delay. RITA (17) a school girl was abducted and raped on the 12th August 2001 while she was returning home after mass and Sunday's school at St. Patrick's Church Talawakelle by Nalaka Piyal and Thuwan Rameez. One of the most shocking cases of the violation of the fundamental human rights of a girl took place in broad daylight in the town of Talawakelle in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. However, Rita been a school girl, went all by herself to the Talawakelle police station, made a complaint and went with police officers in search of the perpetrators even before informing her mother. Being a poor tea plantation family, her mother was still working at Holyrood Estate, not very far from Talawakelle town. Her father passed away when she was very young and the grandfather was the strength to the family. Rita was a student at Tamil Maha Vidyalaya Talawakelle and when this incident happened, she was in year 10. Like other tea plantation families, the family of Rita too had financial difficulties, trying to manage with the little money that her mother and grandfather earned. Soon after the incident Rita was brought to Kandy and she studied in Peradeniya Tamil school and sat for her O/L 's and HRO provided her with holistic assistance. A public protest was held in Hatton Town on the 26th August 2012 to pressurize the Talawakella police officers calling for an impartial inquiry. Justice from the District court to Jesudasan Rita after 17 years ..... In the MR case 04/2004 of Jesudasan Rita for Redress, the two accused Nalaka Piyal Samaraweera and Mohomad Thuwanan Rameez were ordered to pay 800,000/- (Eight hundred thousand rupees) by the Nuwara Eliya District Court Judge on the 30th July 2021 as compensation. However, the Judgement was appealed by the accused and soon the case will be heard in the Appeal court in Kandy. 20 years in search of Justice... On 28th December 2015, the Nuwara Eliya High Court judge delivered a historic judgment for the abduction and Rape of Rita and the two accused were each sentenced to 23 years rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs. 200,000 as compensation after being convicted for abduction and rape. However, the case was appealed and a fresh trial was ordered due to a technical error and the case HC / NE 48/2010 will be taken for trial once again in Nuwara Eliya High Court. S. Umadevi (23), of Nawalapitiya, Imbulpitiya Estate was abducted, raped and murdered on the 12th of September 2001 at Kopiwatte, Mallanda in Nawalapitiya on her way home after attending her typing class in Nawalapitiya Town. The father of Uma Devi heard that the corpse of a young woman was found in the shrub land near the Malkanda bridge. The father went to that spot and identified the body of his daughter who was raped and murdered Two weeks after the incident in September 2001, when the investigations were at a standstill, we organized a public Protest in Nawalapitiya town from the Hindu Kovil to the Catholic Church, drawing a huge crowd, calling for the police to arrest the accused and proceed with the investigations This was followed up by a postcard campaign where we called Justice for both Umadevi and Rita. More than 5000 postcards were sent by the students to the relevant authorities including the then President Chandrika Kumaranatunga. Our campaign led the authorities to hand over the investigation to the Gampola ASP office. It was only in 2002 the 03 accused Junideeen Mohomad Haris, Abdul Razaak Mohomad Salam and Pakeer Mohomad Kamaldeen between the age of 55-70 were arrested, however the second accused died before the trials concluded. On the 25th September 2012, Kandy High Court Judge sentenced the two accused for 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for abduction and rape and death sentence for the murder of Umadevi. The rape and murder of Umadevi took place exactly one month after the rape of Jesudasan Rita in Talawakelle on the 12th August 2001 and her case is still on trial at Nuwara-Eliya high court even after 20 years. Divya - Mohanambal was 13 years when she was raped by her neighbor S. Jeevaratnem on the 08th November 2007, while she was all alone at home, in Dankanda Estate Rattota, Matale. Divya lived with her father, grandmother, uncle, two sisters and a brother. Her mother had gone to the Middle East for employment. On the 08th November 2007 happen to be a Deepavali day, 'the Festival of Light' and she was alone at home. Mr. Jeevaratnam (43), the neighbor, had come to her house after consuming alcohol threatened her a knife and forced her to drink alcohol. When she started shouting, Jeevaratnam put a cloth in her mouth and raped her. When she regained consciousness after an hour, she informed the family members and made a complaint to the police. Divya was then brought to Kandy by the Human Rights Office staff for counseling, protection and for her security. She was housed in Ampitiya and studied at the Ampitiya R.C school and at Peradeniya Tamil School. Divya sat for the GCE O/L exam in 2011 December. The Kandy High Court Judge, Manilal Vaidyathiaka, sentenced the accused Sandanam Jeevaratnam to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000/- on the 18th May 2012. Apart from that The Judge ordered Rs. 100,000/= as compensation to the victim. Since there were several cases of Rape & Child abuse reported from Matale and Rattota, a Protest was held in Rattota town on the 02nd December 2011, calling the Police to arrest perpetrators and bring them before the law. Ishalini Jude Kumar, a 16-year-old Catholic girl from Dayagama West, Division 3, died 12 days after she was admitted to the Colombo National Hospital on the 03rd July 2021 with severe burn injuries while she was working as a domestic helper at the house of Parliament Member Rishad Bathiudeen. She succumbed to injuries 12 days later and the post mortem found that the teenager had been subject to repeated sexual assault. She was the 11th domestic worker sent from Dayagama to the same house of Rishad Bathiudeen's in laws. Out of the 11 girls, one has jumped into a train and committed suicide and another had died at home while Ishalini died from burn injuries in hospital. The Bishop and diocese of Kandy represented by the Human Rights Office have stood by Rita, Uma Devi and Diviya and many other victims and would stand by Ishalini's family.
Rita & Diviya like many others were provided holistic assistance, such as legal, medical, psychological, educational, employment and housing and has accompanied them during the past 20 years and still continues to accompany them and their families. Rita now lives in her own house while the first daughter is studying in a leading catholic school in Kandy. Diviya is happily married and has a son. However, we sadly note that still the children, especially the girls of tea plantations workers are vulnerable due to grinding poverty. Endless promises of various politicians for the increase of wages etc have never realized. “Justice for Ishalini”
“As the Bishop and Priests in the Catholic Diocese of Kandy (Central Province), we were very saddened and shocked to hear about the death of 16-year-old girl Ishalini, a parishioner of St. Anthony’s Church, Dayagama in our diocese. It is our firm conviction that a young girl like Ishalini should have been in school and not as a domestic worker in an unfamiliar setting without any protection mechanisms. It is a shame on us as Sri Lankans, including the present and previous governments, that Ishalini’s parents were in debt and an economic situation that compelled them to send a young daughter as a domestic worker”. Bishop of Kandy in his letter made 07 demands on behalf of the tea plantation community. This was stated in the letter sent by the Bishop of Kandy, Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney Fernando and his priests of the diocese to his excellency the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. The contents of the letter s was explained during the Media conference held on the 03rd August 2021 at the Human Rights Office in Kandy along with Frs. Nandana Manatunga, Ivan Jayasundara, Surendra Pragash & Fr. Christy Paul. A round table conference was held along with Rita, the survivor, the lawyers, the staff and the members of the support group on the 12th August 2021 at the Human Rights Office to review the long walk of Rita seeking Justice and Redress. Rita in a soft tone narrated her painful experiences in seeking Justice and described her present life being a mother of two daughters. Rita thanked profusely all those who were around her during the past 20 years. The 04 lawyers present, Surangika Ranaweera, Suren D. Perera, Charaka Dharmasiri, & Geeva Nilmalgoda expressed their views regarding the adjudication process, court delay and their experiences in prosecuting the case. The defects of the Justice System were highlighted by all the lawyers and required reforms were also pointed out. Dr. Clotida Perera narrated how Rita was assisted medically when necessary and also the trauma counseling provided by Sr. Mabel. A former staff at Setik, Asela Ihagama recalled how the persons who accompanied Rita were humiliated and insulted in court by the defense lawyer. The staff of the HRO and some members of the support group recalled how they assisted Rita holistically during the past 20 years and assured their assistance in the future as well. It was noted that Rita was placed in 16 different houses for security & protection while she was studying and employed. Due to discriminative acts experienced by Rita being a Tamil at the Free Trade Zone in Katunayake, she was forced to return to Kandy. Fr. Nandana explained how the support group was formed and the “Victim centered activities” emerged with the need to accompany victims and monitor trials. “With the case of Rita we have learnt how we should accompany victims not just for few months but even 20 years or more”. Rita was raped on the 12th August 2001 when she was just a student in Year 10, while she was returning from St. Patrick’s Church Talawakelle on that fateful Sunday. Exactly 20 years ago. She took the first step in seeking Justice by making a complaint to the Talawakelle Police, all by herself which was supported for 20 long years with holistic assistance by the then director and the staff of Setik followed by the director staff and members of the support group of the Human Rights Office. The Bishop of the Central Province Rt. Rev. Dr. Vianney Fernando was very much involved in the struggle in seeking Justice to Rita and encouraged Rita and those who were accompanying her. The MR case for compensation was completed on the 30th July 2021 in the District Court, however the fresh trial of the criminal case at the High Court is still to commence after 20 years. In 2015 the Nuwara Eliya High Court Judge sentenced the two accused for 23 years of imprisonment but due to a technical error made by the Judge who initiated the trials was pointed out during the appeal. Hence the case was ordered for a fresh trial by the Court of Appeal.
The protest that was held in Hatton against the Talawakelle Police and the post card campaign in support of Rita and Umadevi were recalled when Fr. Nandana pointed out a post card sent in 2001. Asian Human Rights Commission also sent out several Urgent Appeals requesting the authorities to conduct impartial inquiries and expedite trials. As a response to the appeal made by the Bishop of Mannar late Rt. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph, the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ordered to conduct a fresh investigation in to the criminal offence committed against Rita. Altogether 09 High Court Judges heard the criminal case of Rita since 2007 and 10 State counsels have led the prosecution and more than 20 lawyers have appeared during the court hearings on behalf of Rita. Further several Priests, Religious, staff members and members of the support group have accompanied Rita to court during the past 20 years. How long the fresh trial will take is a question... another....10 years...or 20 years .. The right to a fair trial is fundamental to the rule of law and to democracy itself.
The victims of rape, Torture domestic violence and of Human Rights violations have to follow the legal process to punish the perpetrators and hence Legal assistance comes in to the forefront in the process of seeking Justice & Redress. Often victims tend to take Law in to their hands and punish the perpetrators instead of following the adjudication process. The delay in the adjudication process and the defects have made people to lose confidence in the Justice system. In this context, HRO encourages the victims to seek Justice through adjudication process, identify the defects and campaign for necessary reforms. Access to Justice - Strategic Litigation & Legal aid
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