Four remanded for distributing porridge in Sampur released on bail

A court has granted bail to four Tamils including three women, who were remanded following the arrest on a prohibition order against the distribution of #Mullivaikkal Kanji rice gruel in the memory of their loved ones who were killed fifteen years ago.

On 17th May, Muttur Magistrate Thaslean Fausan ordered the release of Kamaleswaran Thennila, Kamaleswaran Vijitha, Selava Vinoth Sujani, and Nawaretna Rasa Harihar Kumar, violently arrested by police on 12th May Sunday, on a surety of one hundred thousand rupees each as ordered by the.

The case earlier filed by the police under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) act was later changed to be filed under the code of criminal procedure, enabling Attorney at Law Nagaraja Mohan to obtain bail for the four.

On 16th of May a group of lawyers led by Attorney at law Kanagarathnam Sugash were successful in getting the Kanji ban that led to the violent arrest of the four Tamil nationals, withdrawn from the Muttur courts.

Speaking to journalists, attorney Kanagaratnam Sugas expressed his heartfelt gratitude to a group of Muslim lawyers who joined him in court to have the ban on kanji lifted.

“It should be mentioned that they discussed certain legal facts with me and guided me. I did not expect to receive such support. So, I express my heartfelt gratitude to those Muslim lawyers. I believe that this case would pave the way for stronger Tamil-Muslim ties in the future.”

Following the victory in the court case, attorney Sugas on 16 May told regional journalists that he questioned in the court how an activity that is not illegal in the south could be considered illegal in the north and east.

“We questioned – If the serving of milk rice in southern Sri Lanka is not illegal, we questioned how serving Kanji in the north and east could be illegal. We also pointed out if this continues to happen, in future there is a danger of police arresting people when Kanji is cooked in their homes.”

On 13 May, the Officers-in-Charge (OIC) of the Sampur Police Station, Chief Inspector of Police S.W.J. Thushara, had informed the Mutur Magistrate that investigations are being conducted to find out whether the arrested individuals had committed an offence under Section 3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Act No. 56 of 2007 (ICCPR) Act.

The B report to court in Sinhala described the ban as, “the prohibition order obtained following submissions to court under Muttur M/C case No. AR 211/24 to halt commemoration events named as Mullivaikkal Genocide organised in the Sampur police division with the aim of promoting (Tamil) Tiger members who died in the final LTTE war”.

However, the court order AR 211/24 issued by the Mutur Magistrate on 12 May against remembering those who died in the war and distributing kanji has no reference to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The court order issued in Tamil was mainly against “carrying out any activities in public places with a view to remember those who died in Vella Mullivaikkal and unlawfully creating public inconvenience by gathering people, organizing vehicle rally and gathering at a place for offering food items or gruel (kanji) or any drinks which may lead to contagious disease and harming public health and cause danger to public life” .

Accordingly, the Mutur Magistrates Court imposed a 14-day ban on such activities, and the order was issued for Maveerar Sangam President Kandiah Kandeepan, Maveerar Sangam Vice President Shanthalingam Gopirasa, Mutur Maveerar Sangam Treasurer Navaretna Rasa Hariharakumar, Mutur Maveerar Sangam Secretary Selva Vinod Sujani, members of the Maveerar Sangam, and other persons.

On the morning of 12 May (Sunday), arrangements had been made by the residents of the area to prepare kanji in front of the Senayur Pillaiyar Kovil in Sampur, Trincomalee. It was in the memory of tens of thousands of Tamils deprived of food and medicines by government sanctions. Their only meal of survival during the final stages of the war was ‘Mullivaikkal kanji’ - rice boiled in water, with a pinch of salt when available.

Officers of the Sampur Police Station, who arrived at the venue with the court order, attempted to hand over the order to those who had gathered there. However, they had refused to accept it, saying that kanji was being prepared to remember their relatives who died in the war and not for members of the LTTE.

Video footage shows a police officer telling kanji makers that the court order has no mention of members of the LTTE.

The four arrested by the police at their homes and produced in the Mutur Magistrate Court on 13 May, were remanded till 27 May.

Sampur Police Station’s OIC had introduced them in the court as “those who had prepared kanji to distribute among the public without obtaining permission from the Medical Officer of Health, and had attempted to distribute kanji in remembrance of deceased LTTE members.”

Videos show police violence that was unleashed during the process of arresting the women who were getting ready to commemorate the dead. These videos went viral, and resulted in widespread disapproval and a tense situation even in parliament. Subsequently, on 14 May, the Police Headquarters issued a statement which read:

“Social media posts claim that this male suspect and the three female suspects were arrested because they attempted to distribute a type of porridge, and that is a misreporting of the incident. The police emphasise that the male suspect and the female suspects have been arrested over the abovementioned charges, and especially for holding an event to commemorate the LTTE.”

Mutur police allege that a daughter ‘acted in a hostile manner with a knife on her neck’ in a bid to prevent her mother’s arrest. The daughter has been arrested for ‘cutting two fingers of Female Police Constable no. 9396 Uma Gauri who attempted to arrest the suspect.”

Neighbours have told lawyers that what actually happened was, when a female police officer tried to prise a knife from a daughter who threatened to injure herself as an act of protest against her mother’s arrest, both the police officer and the mother sustained injuries.

However, Colombo’s Police Media Division had called that incident ‘an assault with a sharp object.’

When permission was requested to extend the detention of the arrested individuals, the Sampur Police Station OIC had informed the Mutur Magistrate that ‘due to activities carried out with the intention of promoting the LTTE,’ investigations are in progress to find out whether an offence has been committed under Section 3 of the ICCPR Act No. 56 of 2007.

If a suspect has been remanded in connection with the offences mentioned in Section 3 of the ICCPR Act, it is difficult to obtain bail from a court lower than a High Court.

The statement issued by the Police Media Division a day after the hearing has no mention of the ICCPR Act being used.

A former Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) Commissioner argues that the intention behind such an act is to hide the police’s true motives behind targeting kanji distribution.

“To hide their intent to prevent memorialisation, police are labelling events as commemorations of LTTE and efforts to revive LTTE, and weaponizing the ICCPR Act. And yes, they are targeting preparation and sharing of kanji, which is a symbol of resistance, tenacity, and endurance,” UN Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Torture’s board member and attorney Ambika Satkunanathans said on social media.

Sri Lanka has been criticised at the international level for misusing the ICCPR Act to suppress dissent, whereas the ICCPR Act is recognised as a law that helps protect people from hatred based on ethnicity, race, and religion.