ஐ.நா. சபையின் விஷேட தொடர்பாடல் பிரதிநிதிக்கு சுதந்திரமான கருத்துக்களை வெளிப்படுத்தும் உரிமை தொடர்பாக ‘வார உரைகல்’ சட்டத்தரணி அனுப்பியுள்ள முறைப்பாடு
Complaint to UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression Mr. M.I. Rahamathulla (Sri Lanka)
LST case ref: COL-FOE-2011-00 9th June 2011
Information Relating to the Victim
Mr. M.I. Rahamathulla is a 56 year old, Sri Lankan national, bearing National Identity Card No. 560014562V. He is the father of six children aged 30, 28, 22, 18, 16, and 14. His two oldest daughters are married, the other 4 children is live with Mr. Rahamathulla. He is also responsible for his 11 year old grandson.
Mr. Rahamathulla is the Chief Editor of the ‘Vaara Ureikal’ newspaper – the only provincial newspaper in the Eastern Region of Sri Lanka. Mr. Rahamathulla has over 30 years experience as a journalist. In 2005 he established the Vaara Ureikal weekly newspaper in Kattankudy. Throughout, Mr. Rahamathulla has campaigned against local governmental corruption and worked to expose malpractices in the Kattankudy and Batticaloa areas. Mr. Rahamathulla employs no staff and is solely responsible for financing and publishing each issue of Vaara Ureikal which operates from his residence at No. 43, Abrar Mosque Road, New Kattankudy.6
The Incident and its Background
Mr. Rahamathulla has been subjected to several threats and attacks since he began Vaara Ureikal in 2005. He believes that the attacks are directly linked to his fight against corruption and the misuse of state resources in Kattankudy and Batticaloa.
On 20th September 2007, an identified gang broke into Mr. Rahamathulla’s office and set fire to newspapers which were due to be released the following day. A complaint regarding this incident was filed with the Kattankudy police on 24th September 2007 but no action has been taken based on his complaint.
On 30th April 2008, an unidentified group attacked Mr. Rahamathulla and his daughter and took their money, handbag, driving license, camera, national identity cards. A complaint regarding the attack and theft of these items was filed with the Kattankudy police on 1st May 2008 under Complaint No. CIB/I/131-05 but no action has been taken based on this complaint.
On 31st October 2008, Mr. Rahamathulla received death threats from a person who was seated inside a vehicle belonging to Minister Hizbullah. Although Mr. Rahamathulla immediately complained to the Minister regarding the incident, the Minister paid no attention to the matter and on 1st November 2011, Mr. Rahamathulla filed a complaint with the Kattankudy police.
On the night of 31st March 2009, Mr. Rahamathulla was severely beaten by a group of unidentified men armed with swords and clubs who broke into the Vaara Ureikal office located at his residence. The men brutally beat and tried to set fire to Mr. Rahamathulla. The men also damaged the computer on which Mr. Rahamathulla typed the weekly issue of Vaara Ureikal. Mr. Rahamathulla fractured his left arm and suffered serious injuries in the attack. He was rushed to the Batticaloa Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery for his injuries.
During the attack on 31st March, Mr. Rahamathulla was able to unmask and identify one of his attackers. A complaint regarding the incident was filed with the local police immediately following the attack but no action was taken until a further complaint lodged by Mr. Raha mathulla on 11th August 2010, regarding the lack of investigation into his case and the failure of the police to apprehend the person identified by him during the attack. Following his complaint, one of his attackers was apprehended and the criminal case bearing No.93485/PC has recently been taken up before the Magis trates Court in Batticaloa – almost 2 years after the attack. Mr. Rahamathulla also filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission but no action has been taken to date.
On 27th January 2010, immediately following the presidential election, Mr. Rahamathulla received a call on his mobile phone from Mr. S.H.M. Ashfar, former chairman of the Kattankudy Urban Council, who threatened to kill him.
Mr. Rahamathulla filed a complaint regarding this incident with the Kattan kudy police on 27th January 2010 under No.CBI 307/278. The case was handed over to the Mediation Board by the police and thereafter transferred to the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court under case No. 89772/PC. The case was eventually settled by the Batticaloa Magistrate after Mr. Ashfar apologised for his action on 7th December 2010.
On 13th September 2010, the news paper was attacked by an armed group of thugs, believed to be closely associ ated with Mr. Hizbullah, a powerful politician in Kattankudy, who is currently a Deputy Minister in the ruling UPFA Government. Mr. Rahamathulla believes that the attack was due to his reports, published in Vaara Ureikal, regarding rampant corruption in the local cooper ative sector. A complaint regarding this incident was lodged with the local police but no investigation has been carried out to date.
On 18th October 2010, Mr. Rahama thulla lodged a complaint with the Kattan kudy police under complaint No.CIB/II/25/260 regarding death threats made against him by Mr. K.M. Kaleel Hajiyar, a prominent businessman and close associate of Minister Hizbullah. No action has been taken based on his complaint to date.
On 7th February 2011, Mr. Rahama thulla was attacked for the third time, by two masked men who threw chilli powder in his face and beat him with iron rods. At or around 11 am on 7th February, Mr. Rahamathulla received a call on his mobile phone asking him to bring 50 copies of the Vaara Ureikal newspaper to the Kattankudy Muslim Anadey Illam School at 6.15 pm that day.
The caller, who did not identify himself, claimed that he wished to distribute copies of the newspaper among villagers in the Ottamvadi area prior to a planned visit by Minister Rauf Hakeem to the village. The 170th issue of Vaara Ureikal (published on 4th February 2011) had carried an article criticising Minister Hakeem for breaking his promises to the residents of Kattankudy during the last parliamentary election in April 2010.
Mr. Rahamathulla arrived at the Kattankudy School by 6.15 pm and was speaking to several students at the school, when he received another call asking him to bring the newspapers to the main road (next to the Kattankudy Welcome Board) where the caller said he had parked his vehicle. Immediately after the call, Mr. Rahamathulla proceeded to the school gate and was preparing to leave the premises when he was attacked by two masked men, who had been lying in wait for him by the school gate. The men threw chilli powder in Mr. Rahamathulla’s face and beat him severely with iron rods. They deliberately beat his left hand which had been injured in a previous attack in 2009.
Several students heard Mr. Rahama thulla’s screams and rushed to the scene. The students flung themselves on Mr. Rahamathulla in order to stop the attack, following which the two men left the scene. The whole incident lasted about 20 minutes. Mr. Rahamathulla was rushed to the Kattankudy hospital where he was hospitalised for 24 hours, as a result of his injuries.
On 19th February 2011, Minister Hiz bullah, participated in an interview aired on an unlicensed radio station, run by independent group contesting the urban council election on 17th March 2011. During the interview, Minister Hizbullah instructed the public to stop buying Mr. Rahamathulla’s newspaper and to confiscate the newspaper, tear it up and throw it in his face, then slap Mr. Rahamathulla in the face. Thousands of people in Kattankudy heard Minister Hizbullah’s speech. Mr. Rahamathulla filed a complaint with the Kattankudy police and CAFFE – an election moni toring body regarding the incident.
On 25th February 2011, a young boy selling the Vaara Ureikal newspaper was attacked and the newspaper seized by Mr. S.H.M. Raheem Moulavi, a supporter of Minister Hizbullah. The incident took place near the Kattankudy Div. 01 Meera Jumma Mosque. No complaint has been filed regarding this incident since the boy was too afraid to visit the police and make the complaint. Mr. Rahama thulla believes that this incident is linked to the statements made by Minister Hizbullah in the interview on 19th February.
On 15th March 2011, the Kattankudy police seized 1572 copies of the 175th issue of the Vaara Ureikal newspaper based on a complaint by Minister Hizbullah. The complaint stated that Vaara Ureikal was engaged in illegal campaigning for a political group in the local elections.
Mr. Rahamathulla denies that campaigning for any candidate and states that he merely published a paid advertisement in the newspaper. He is also of the opinion that the ban on campaigning 72 hours prior to the election is only applicable to candidates in the election.
Mr. Rahamathulla was held at the police station for up to 8 hours and the police did not follow the proper procedure in respect of the seizure or his arrest. Since no charges have been made against Mr. Rahamathulla, he believes that the police have drawn the same conclusions regarding the law relating to election campaigning and that there was no legal basis for his arrest and the seizure of the news papers. Mr. Rahamathulla has filed a complaint regarding this incident with the Human Rights Commission in Batticaloa on 22nd March 2011 and the case has been recorded under No.HRC/BCO/077/2011.
Despite the threats and serious risk to his safety, Mr. Rahamathulla continues to publish weekly issues of Vaara Urei -kal. As a result of these attacks and repeated harassment, Mr. Rahamathulla is concerned about his safety and the security of his family. He lives in fear of a further threat or attack and believes that he may eventually be abducted or killed by the minister’s thugs if he continues to publish the newspaper.
The Allegation, Perpetrators and State action
Mr. Rahamathulla believes that the threats and attacks against him, including the attack on 7th February 2011, are linked to his work as a journalist and his campaign against corruption. Mr. Rahamathulla states that Deputy Minister Hizbullah, currently serving in the ruling UPFA alliance, is directly responsible for the attacks against him.
The Vaara Ureikal newspaper has published numerous reports on the misappropriation of state funds and rampant corruption in the Kattankudy area, many of which have implicated Deputy Minister Hizbullah and (his party the All Ceylon People’s Congress) in several corrupt practices.
Prior to the attack on 7th February, Vaara Ureikal published a photograph of a cutout of Deputy Minister Hizbullah displayed against a tree in the center of Kattankudy town, in direct violation of the election law. This issue of Vaara Ureikal was published on 4th February, following which the local police immediately removed the poster from its location. Mr. Rahamathulla believes that Deputy Minister has been angered by his journalism, particularly in the run up to a crucial local government election which took place on 17th March 2011. Mr. Rahamathulla believes that the photograph published on 4th February and the police reaction to the exposure prompted the latest attack on his life 3 days later.
During the attack on 7th February 2011, Mr. Rahamathulla was able to unmask one of his attackers, whom he recognised as a person who was frequently seen in his village. However Mr. Rahamathulla does not know the name or identity of his attacker.
Mr. Rahamathulla made a complaint to the local police regarding the attack, from his hospital bed, at around 11 pm on 7th February. He also gave the police the mobile number from which the calls were made to his mobile phone prior to the attack. The police have informed Mr. Rahamathulla that a request has been made to the phone company for the phone records for this number and that investigation into the attack is continuing. However, no person has been arrested in relation to the attack so far.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police also ordered that police protection be given to Mr. Rahamathulla as a result of the threats. However no such security has been extended to him by the local police so far.
Employment and Affiliations
Mr. Rahamathulla has over 30 years experience as a journalist and worked at the Veerakesari and Dinapathi news papers until 2005. He established the Vaara Ureikal newspaper in 2005 with the aim of ensuring greater accountability in local government and the management and use of public funds in the Kattankudy area.
Mr. Rahamathulla alone is responsible for financing and publishing the news paper which operates from his home in Kattankudy. The proceeds from each weekly issue are used to finance future publications and to support Mr. Rahamathulla’s family and his children’s education.
Mr. Rahamathulla is a member of the Sri Lanka Muslim Media Forum. However he states that the independence of local journalists and their ability and willingness to openly criticise the local Government has been severely compromised due to their dependence on Government jobs and opportunities. As a result, no local journalists have come forward to publicise his persecution or to support his work, despite the repeated threats to his life.
வார உரைகல் . கொம் 
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