Commission for Justice Peace Human Development Human Rights Secretariat

Human rights defender Mr Asela Ihagama has been subjected to harassment and intimidation by police officials in the past two weeks, most recently on 9 February 2012.

Asela Ihagama works at the Commission for Justice, Peace and Human Development of the Human Rights Secretariat in Kandy, Central Province (SETIK-Caritas Kandy). His human rights activities include assisting victims of torture and rape and their families, documenting injuries, submitting information to international bodies, attending and monitoring court cases and organising general awareness programmes.

On 9 February 2012, at approximately 8:40 am, an officer claiming to be the Inspector of Police Wijekoon from the Central Province's Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) came to SETIK-Caritas's office and asked to speak to Asela Ihagama. He told Asela Ihagama that he had come following information received by the TID office in Colombo stating that the human rights defender was promoting support for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) among the estate communities in the province and sending information to the international community in order to discredit the government.

The officer questioned Asela Ihagama in relation to the projects being done with the estate communities, the aims of the programmes and the websites on which they were publicised. He took note of the human rights defender's personal details, including his home address, home phone number and his personal mobile phone number. When Asela Ihagama asked to see the allegations against him, he was shown a letter in which his name was mentioned, reportedly addressed from the TID office in Colombo to the TID office in Kandy but he was not allowed to read the letter in full. The TID officer told him that a report would be sent to the TID office in Colombo immediately and that he might be summoned to the office in Colombo or Kandy to answer further questions if necessary.

On 2 February 2012, two men who identified themselves as being from the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) came to the SETIK-Caritas office looking for the human rights defender. They told him that they sought his advice regarding problems they had in relation to their promotions. However, Asela Ihagama suspected that the real reason behind their visit was to gather information about the work of SETIK-Caritas.

On 20 January 2012, Asela Ihagama conducted a human rights training programme for nurses and doctors at the Nuwara Eliya General hospital, which focused on raising awareness and protecting the rights of the estate workers in the area. A few days later, on 29 January 2012, four individuals looked for him at his home. However, as he was not there at the time the individuals questioned those who were present about him.

Asela Ihagama has been subjected to a number of threats and acts of intimidation in the past. He has been under surveillance, questioned by the authorities and directly threatened against getting involved in cases against the police. Individuals claiming to be intelligence officers have called to his home and on several occasions, have come to human rights events that he organised and have questioned him. Posters discrediting the work of SETIK-Caritas have been put up in public places stating that the organisation is working against the government.