July 29, 2011
SRI LANKA: The body of the disappeared human rights activist Pattini Razeek exhumed
Mr. Pattini Razeek, a well known human rights activist and a member of the executive committee of Forum Asia disappeared
on February 11, 2010, yesterday (July 28) his body was exhumed before the Valachchenai Magistrate. The body had been
buried within a half built private house in a remote village in Uddamaveli, Valachchanair and the location was
identified due to a lead given by a suspect. The body has been sent to the government analyst department for scientific
identification on the orders of the Magistrate. For the last one and a half years there had been a continuous demand
from the members of his family, from the people in his residential area as well as from human rights organisations in
Sri Lanka and abroad for an investigation into his disappearance. Razeek was the head of the Community Trust Fund (CTF),
a Sri Lankan NGO based in the town of Puttalam.
The discovery of the body should be the beginning of the process of uncovering the circumstances leading to the death of
this human rights activist and community leader. It is the duty of the government to ensure a thorough enquiry into all
the circumstances surrounding the mystery of this disappearance and to place before the courts the entire evidence
relating to the conspiracy for this murder. Obviously this murder and the disappearance is a part of a well thought out
criminal conspiracy.
The circumstances of this disappearance and murder suggest the involvement of powerful forces for the causing of this
crime as well as for the attempt to hide the body. The reports published earlier suggest political motives for this
murder. The events relating to the disposal of the Community Trust Fund also suggests that there were interested parties
to make claims for this trust fund after his disappearance. All these factors need to be thoroughly investigated and
brought to the notice of the court and the public.
The public in Sri Lanka has a great interest in the outcome of these investigations. For a long time the causing of
forced disappearances has become a common phenomenon in the country. So far there has not been a single case of a
disappearance which has led to the discovery of the culprits. The perpetrators of disappearances have enjoyed immunity
in almost all instances of such occurrences.
This first discovery of the body of a person who was considered to have been disappeared should lead to a great demand
from the community for accountability. As the inquiries are of the greatest public importance such inquiries should be
conducted with transparency. It is necessary, not only to uncover the direct perpetrators of this crime but what is even
more important is to uncover the conspiracy behind this disappearance and murder.
The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Sri Lanka to conduct speedy and credible inquiries through
competent and impartial investigators and to speedily bring the matter before the court for trial. The AHRC also urges
complete transparency into the inquiries so that the public should have access to all the information relating to this
heinous crime. The AHRC also urges the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure proper monitoring of
this important case with the view that the circumstances surrounding such occurrence could be fully revealed.
Thousands of other cases of forced disappearances remain unresolved. The families of such disappeared persons should be
given opportunities to make their complaints to competent authorities and to demand inquiries into such disappearances.
The failure to ensure enquiries into such heinous crimes amounts to a conspiracy to ensure secrecy relating to such
crimes. As the numbers of the persons making such complaints are many there should be a more robust response from the
government to ensure credible enquiries.
At the time of the recovery of Razeek's body the case of Prageeth Eknaligoda will naturally come to the minds of the Sri
Lankan public. The demand for enquiries into his forced disappearance has been made forcefully by his family as well as
many concerned groups in Sri Lanka as well as by the international community. It is the duty of the Sri Lankan
governemtn to responde to such demands and to ensure a credible inquiry by competent and impartial investigators into
his disappearance.
Please see the earlier communications by the AHRC:
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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia,
documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these
rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
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