• Directs IGP to submit findings on responsible cops to AG for action
• Finds that the relevant cops were lacking knowledge & training of firearm use
• Recommends compensation to victims, and crowd control guidelines  

The Committee of Experts (COE) appointed by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Chandana D. Wickramaratne to ascertain the exact Police officer responsible for shooting Chaminda Lakshan during a protest in Rambukkana on 19 April 2022, and to forward the findings on the relevant Police officers connected to the deadly incident, to the Attorney General (AG), President’s Counsel Sanjay Rajaratnam for necessary action.

The final report of the COE appointed to investigate the incidents that took place during a mass protest in Rambukkana on 19 April 2022, which consists of several observations and recommendations, was released on Tuesday (18).

In the report, the COE has observed that four of the Police officers who were equipped with Type-56 (T-56) weapons during the said protest were given the T-56 weapons prior to their deployment at the protest site. “As revealed by one of the Police officers, he had received the weapon a day prior to the date of the incident, when there was no or a very low propensity for violence to erupt during the protests in Rambukkana.”

It has also been observed that two out of the four Police officers have had very little knowledge on the operation of the lethal weapons that were given to them to be used during the protest. “It was evidenced that they have not been provided with updated and adequate training on the use of such lethal weapons by the relevant authorities prior to their deployment for the crowd control operation. One Police officer was of the opinion that he was too old to effectively handle a T-56 weapon despite him being deployed to a crowd control operation.”

Considering such matters, the COE has observed that the provision of lethal weapons to Police officers who do not have the required level of knowledge and training on the use of such weapons and the deployment of such officers with lethal weapons to public places, especially to places where a mass of people congregate, is an eminent threat to the right to life of the people and amounts to an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life.

Making several recommendations, the COE has recommended to IGP Wickramaratne to use the evidence and special findings of the report, in particular the closed circuit television camera footage to conduct an inquiry and ascertain the exact Police officer responsible in shooting Lakshan, and forward the findings regarding the responsible Police officers to the AG for his reference and for necessary action.

The COE has also requested the IGP to update the HRCSL on the progress of the disciplinary inquiry held against Senior Superintendent of Police K.B. Keerthirathne who gave an illegal order to shoot, on the measures taken by the Police to abstain from deploying Police officers who lack the adequate knowledge and training on the use of lethal weapons, and on steps taken to provide the necessary up to date weapon training to Police officers.

The COE has recommended to the Department of Police to pay adequate compensation to the victims who have suffered injuries as a result of the excessive use of force by Police officers during the protest, and to the wife and two children of the deceased.

In addition to the observations and recommendations, the COE has presented a series of guidelines to law enforcement officers to be followed during crowd control operations in the future.

The report states that the order to use force must be given solely on an exceptional basis, only after clearly announcing the intention to use force and allowing sufficient time for the participants to exit the area. “A minimum of three warnings should be given on the use of force to the people, prior to the use of force. Upon delivering such an order to use force, the officers must use force only to the minimum extent necessary, following the principles of restraint, proportionality, the minimisation of damage, and the preservation of life. Law enforcement must not physically pursue protesters fleeing the protest site.”

Once the need for any use of force has passed, the COE report mentions that no other resort to force is permissible. “Law enforcement officials may not use greater force than is proportionate to the legitimate objective of either dispersing a protest, preventing a crime, or effecting an arrest.”

The report further stated that the incidents of the use of force must be documented promptly in a transparent report. “Where an injury occurs, the report should contain sufficient information to establish whether the use of force was necessary and proportionate by setting down details of the incident, including the reasons for the use of force. Where injuries or deaths result from using force, an independent, open, prompt, and effective investigation must be undertaken, by a panel of individuals who possess integrity and competence. The officers responsible should be sanctioned appropriately, and the victims should be informed about possible remedies.”

It also stated that the obedience to superior orders is not a defence if law enforcement officials knew that an order to use firearms resulting in a person's death or severe injury was manifestly unlawful, and had a reasonable opportunity to refuse to follow it.

The COE has also stated that the commanding officers at protest sites should complete a comprehensive after action report, irrespective of whether a protest is peaceful or unlawful, with no exception. “Any officer who opened fire, for whatever reason, regardless of its effect, should submit a report including but not limited to the rounds fired, the target, the reason for firing, the command issued to fire, if any, the identity of the officer who issued the command, and the identity of the senior-most officer in command. All written reports should be completed by the commanding officer on site as soon as possible after the event and handed over to his/her immediate superior, and through the hierarchy, to the IGP or, at the very least, the Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police of the relevant Province, in order to ensure that all high ranking Police officers have a detailed report of the occurrence. If an officer uncovers a discrepancy between the report and what occurred or a breach of duty, a complaint must be submitted for disciplinary inquiry against the officer involved, and legal action should be taken where necessary.”

Further, the Police Department must ensure that every Police officer assigned to crowd management duty has received crowd management and de-escalation training, that a trained senior officer is assigned to the post of the commanding officer at the site of the protest, that the officers deployed to carry out crowd control at the protest site to which they are assigned to should be familiar with the geographic and demographic details of that area, and that every method available should facilitate smooth and prompt communication between the commanding officers and those under their command.

The IGP has been directed to submit a report regarding the implementation of the relevant recommendations to the HRCSL on or before 18 May 2023.

Lakshan was killed and more than 20 others were injured when the Police opened fire on protesters who were engaged in a protest over the fuel shortage that prevailed at that time and rising fuel prices in the Rambukkana area on 19 April 2022. The Police had fired tear gas to disperse protestors who were engaged in the protest blocking a railway track in the area, after which they had opened fire on the protestors.