Sinhala Police violate Sinhala presidential directives.....!!! SHAME...!!!

Police violate presidential directives

By Roel Raymond

The Human Rights Ministry took the police to task yesterday after they had forcefully arrested and detained an official attached to the Disaster Management Centre in violation of the Presidential directive on arrests and detention.

Police spokesman. Ranjith Gunasekera said the official had been arrested late on Monday at his residence by the Mirihana Special Investigations Unit and detained for further questioning.

SSP Guansekara however was unable to give the reason for the arrest, as the information pertaining to the arrest had not been divulged to him by the Mirihana Special Investigations Unit.

Disaster Management Centre officials said the coordinating officer of the Centre identified as Jayasingha was “abducted” by plain clothed men who had forced their way into his house in Matugama and taken him away without providing any information to the family as to who they were and why he was being taken away.

When contacted Human Rights Minster Mahinda Samarasinghe said while the arrest and detention of those suspected to have violated the law was the duty and right of the police the arrest of the official attached to the Disaster Management Centre had been conducted in a manner contrary to the law.

“According to Presidential Directives for arrests or detainment the family of the person to be arrested must be notified of the arrest or be given a receipt of some sort, and they also have the right to be allowed to accompany their relative to the police station. However according to information received by me none of this had taken place,” Minister Samarasinghe told the Daily Mirror.

The Minister said neither the Matugama police HQI nor the Kalutara SSP had been informed of the arrest by the Mirihana police. He said the Ministry for Human Rights would be looking into the matter.

The Presidential directive on arrest and detention of persons promulgated by the President in July 2006 and reissued by the Ministry of Defence in April 2007 is quite explicit as to the requirements for arrest and detention.

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