8/6/2019 Razeek Case - FA Open Letter-28June2011

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Open Letter to the President and Government of Sri Lanka on the case of Mr PattaniRazeekTuesday, 28 June 2011

Open Letter to the President and Government of Sri Lanka to Expedite the Investigation of Disappeared Sri LankanHuman Rights Defender Mr Pattani Razeek

H.E. President Mahinda RajapaksePresident of Sri LankaFax: +94 11 243 0590Email: gosl@presidentsl.org

28 June 2011

Your Excellency,

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a membership-based regional human rightsorganization, is gravely concerned with the failure of Your Excellencys Government on the investigation into thedisappearance of Sri Lankan human rights defender, Mr Pattani Razeek, an Executive Committee Member of FORUM-ASIA, who disappeared on 11 February 2010 from Polonnaruwa, a town in the North-Central Province of Sri Lanka.

Mr Razeek, 55 years old, who was the Managing Trustee of the Community Trust Fund (CTF) in Sri Lanka, travelled toPolonnaruwa with CTF staff on 11 February 2010. In Polonnaruwa, Mr Razeek met with a group of persons in a vanparked behind the Jumma Mosque. He approached the group in the van and exchanged greetings in Arabic, indicatingthat they were Muslim. Mr Razeek got into the van with the group, having told CTF staff that he would be travelling to theEastern town of Valaichchenai and return to Polonnaruwa the following day. Mr Razeek has not been seen or heard fromsince, and his family and friends as well as the CTF have been searching for him since then.

FORUM-ASIA shares the deep pain and suffering of the family members of Mr Razeek, who have had no knowledgeabout the fate of their loved one to this date despite being missing for 500 days now.

Furthermore, we are extremely disappointed by the delays in taking effective action on the complaint lodged by the familyof Mr Razeek to the various authorities of Sri Lanka, including the Police and the Human Rights Commission of SriLanka. We are significantly concerned by the failure to apprehend or question Mr Shahabdeen Nowshaadh, a personidentified by the Police as the main suspect in Mr Razeeks disappearance. We are also troubled by allegations of politicalinfluence in the investigation of this case, particularly that Nowshaadhs arrest has been prevented allegedly due to hisclose association with a powerful Government Minister.

Therefore, FORUM-ASIA strongly calls on Your Excellencys Government to:

- Expedite the search for Mr Pattani Razeek, including arresting the prime suspect Mr Shahabdeen Nowshaadh and

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8/6/2019 Razeek Case - FA Open Letter-28June2011

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producing him in court;- Enhance the credibility and independence of the official inquiries that have begun over a year since the initialcomplaint, through timely and transparent investigation, prosecution and punishment until the fate of Mr Pattani Razeekis established and the perpetrators are brought to justice;- Establish through immediate and concrete measures the protection of human rights defenders across Sri Lanka andensure their safety from intimidation, torture and enforced disappearances from both the state and non-state actors in

accordance with the 1998 UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders as well as Sri Lankas obligations under theinternational human rights treaties to which it is a party.We thank Your Excellency in anticipation of swift action.

Yours Sincerely,Yap Swee Seng

Executive DirectorFORUM-ASIA

CC:1. Justice Priyantha R P PereraChairperson, Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka

Fax: +94 11 269 4924, 269 6470E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk

2. Mr. Mohan PeirisAttorney General of Sri LankaFax: +94 11 243 6421

E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

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