Law Enforcement Vs. Human Rights & The Wijeyadasa Amendment
Somapala Gunadheera
A news item in the Island of the 3rd instant highlights a controversy that has arisen with the publication of a Bill proposing to introduce a new section to the Criminal Procedure Code to deprive suspects’ access to lawyers until their statements were recorded, thus withdrawing the rights already guaranteed by the State under rules made by the Inspector General of Police in accordance with the Police Ordinance. The proposed Section 37A(1) states, “any person who has been arrested and detained in custody, shall have the right to retain and consult an Attorney-at-law of his choice at his own expense, after the recording of his statements in terms of the provisions of subsection (1) of the section 110 and prior to being produced before a Magistrate.”
Justice Minister Dr Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe
Justice Minister DrWijeyadasa Rajapakshe, PC, has emphatically stated that the government would go ahead with the proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Code meant to deprive lawyers an opportunity to meet their clients before the police recorded their statements. He has alleged that in their anxiety to protect the interests of the suspects, both theHRCSL and BASL had turned a blind eye to the suffering of the victims, overlooking the difficulties experienced by law enforcement authorities fighting crime as well as ordinary law abiding citizens. Of course no one can shut out legal assistance before a suspect arrives at a Police station, unless he is suddenly arrested.
In a letter addressed to the President, BASL President Geoffrey Alagaratnam has pointed out, “The Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 4 of 2015, grants an aggrieved party a right of representation at the police station from the inception. However a suspect’s right to be represented will be limited by the proposed Bill resulting in unequal treatment”. The HRCSL has alleged that there had been many instances of torture as well as cruel, inhuman treatment of suspects at police stations between the period of arrest and the conclusion of the recording of their statements. Dr Deepika Udagama, the Chairperson of the HRC, has warned, “Depriving suspects under arrest and detention of access to their lawyers, until the conclusions of their statements, will result in a greater risk of suspects being subject to torture, cruel and inhuman treatment as well as illegal arrest and detention by errant police officers. The passage of the new Bill will hinder the efforts of the Government which has expressed its determination to stop torture in Sri Lanka.” Practically however, the dangers feared by HR activists cannot be completely eliminated by seeking legal assistance as no such assistance is available overnight.
