Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances
8 August 2011
OPEN LETTER
HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT MAHINDA RAJAPAKSE
Office of the President,
Temple Trees, 150, Galle Road,
Colombo 3, Sri Lanka
His Excellency President Rajapakse,
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) is a
regional federation of human
rights organizations working directly on the issue of enforced or
involuntary disappearances.
We are writing to appeal to your office the case of Mr. Pattani Razeek.
Mr. Razeek, a Managing Trustee of the Community Trust Fund (CTF) in
Puttalam and Executive
Committee Member of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development
(FORUM-ASIA)
disappeared on February 11, 2010 while he was travelling to Polonnaruwa.
He was last seen getting
inside a van near the Jumma Mosque in Kaduruwela. After the incident,
his family received phone
calls from his mobile phone with attempts to produce huge amounts of
money in exchange for Mr.
Razeek’s release.
We have received reports that the remains of the internationally
recognized human rights
disappeared defender Mr. Pattani Razeek were exhumed in Kavathamunai,
Oddamavadi,
Valaichenai province on July 28, 2011 and the post mortem held on August
2, 2011 in Batticaloa.
We have also heard from our partners that shops in the Puttalam town and
nearby towns were shut
down on August 3, 2011, with banners displayed in public places
condemning the murder and
calling to bring perpetrators to justice. This indicates the massive
public outrage in the area against
the killing of Mr. Razeek.
The Federation is saddened by the tragic end to the search for Mr.
Razeek. Individuals responsible
for the disappearance and killing of Mr. Razeek must be brought before
the judiciary immediately.
In this light, the Federation appeals for the following urgent
interventions on the case to expedite
the transparent investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators of Mr.
Razeek’s
disappearance by:
• Questioning and arresting all persons who were in the vehicle driven
by one of the suspects,
Mr. Musdeen, which was the vehicle used when Mr. Razeek was abducted.
• Questioning and arresting all persons who were in the vehicle with the
other suspect, Mr.
Nowshaadh, who had admitted to meeting Mr. Razeek in the area on the
date he was last
seen.
• Questioning and arresting Mr. Irshan, senior staff of Minister Rishard
Bathiudeen, who had
claimed that Mr. Razeek was in custody of the Defense Ministry.
• Investigating whether Minister Rishard Bathiudeen and former CTF
Trustee Mr. Mustafa
Nihmath had any direct or indirect involvement in the killing and
abduction of Mr. Razeek,
based on public calls for citing their involvement by the family, Mosque
leaders and the
thousands that gathered for Mr. Razeek’s funeral on August 3, 2011.
The development on the case of Mr. Razeek has again brought before the
international community
the issue of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka.
Thus, we are appealing to your office to issue an official invitation to
the United Nations Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to visit the country
again and to reinstate the
state obligations by signing and ratifying the International Convention
for the Protection of All
Persons form Enforced Disappearance.
Such actions are in compliance with Sri Lanka’s state obligations to
ensure that no citizen under any circumstance shall be subjected to
enforced disappearance; no person will be deprived of liberty
unless he or she is formally charged with a criminal offense. Every
person has the right to truth,
reparation and the right to equal protection before the law and should
enjoy an environment in
which he or she can be defended under the rule of law.
It is only through truth and justice that genuine and lasting
reconciliation and peace can be
attained.
Thank you.
Sincerely yours,
 |
 |
|
MUGIYANTO |
MARY AILEEN D. BACALSO |
| Chairperson |
Secretary-General |
Copy furnished to:
1. Mr. Jeremy J. Sarkin
Chairperson Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
c/o OHCHR-UNOG CH-1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
2. Committee on Enforced Disappearance (CED)
Human Rights Treaties Division (HRTD)
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson - 52, rue des Pâquis, CH-1201 Geneva (Switzerland)
