Case History: Balendran Jeyakumari
On 8 September 2015, human rights defender Ms Balendran Jeyakumari was released on bail following six days in detention.
On 2 September, she was summoned to the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court and detained later that same day.
Balendran Jeyakumari has led a campaign calling for the whereabouts of missing persons in Sri Lanka to be made known. She became involved in the campaign following the enforced disappearance of her son after he surrendered to the Sri Lankan army in 2009. Balendran Jeyakumari and her daughter have featured in various video documentaries on the disappeared. She has mobilised families in Killinochchi to attend hearings, protests and meetings on the issue of disappearances.
- Top
- About
- 10 September 2015 : Human rights defender Balendran Jeyakumari released on bail
- 4 September 2015 : Human rights defender Balendran Jeyakumari detained
- 11 March 2015 : Conditional release of human rights defender Ms Balendran Jeyakumari
- 14 March 2014 : Siege at the home of human rights defender Ms Balendran Jayakumari
On 8 September 2015, human rights defender Ms Balendran Jeyakumari was released on bail following six days in detention.On 2 September, she was summoned to the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court and detained later that same day.
On 8 September 2015, the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court ordered the release of Balendran Jeyakumari on the basis that bail conditions had been fulfilled. The police opposed her release. The court required the human rights defender to have two individuals to vouch for her, providing a surety of 100,000 LKR as surety and 25,000 LKR in cash.
On 2 September 2015, Balendran Jeyakumari was detained following a summons to the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court. The human rights defender was not granted bail immediately as only one surety was present, and was therefore detained. The human rights defender's detention is related to unsubstantiated accusations of her involvement in the alleged theft of two mine detectors. According to her lawyers, the police have not provided any case materials and have given conflicting responses in relation to her detention, including suggesting that she may just be a witness to the case. The court hearing is scheduled for 16 September 2015 at the Padaviya Magistrate Court.
On 2 September 2015, human rights defender Ms Balendran Jeyakumari was summoned to the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court and detained later that same day.
On 2 September 2015, she was summoned to the Kebithigollewa Magistrate Court and subsequently detained. The summons was based on an arrest warrant, which had been issued by the court on 1 September. As condition for granting bail, the court required the human rights defender to have two sureties to vouch for her, 100,000 Sri Lankan Rupees as surety or 25,000 Sri Lankan Rupees cash for bail. As only one surety was present, her bail request was denied. In order for bail to be granted, Balendran Jeyakumari’s lawyer plans to pay the cash bail to the Kebethigollawa Magistrate Court Registrar and to act as the second surety.
The human rights defender's detention is allegedly in connection with the theft of two mine detectors. According to her lawyers, it is still unclear whether she has been arrested as a suspect, or whether she is believed to be a witness, as the police have given conflicting responses and have not provided any case materials. The court hearing is scheduled for 16 September 2015.
On 10 March 2015, following a year in pre-trial detention related to a previous case, Balendran Jeyakumari was conditionally released upon payment of a bond of 200,000 Sri Lankan Rupees (approximately €1420) pending completion of the investigation into charges of harbouring an armed man, who the authorities claim had shot and injured a member of the police. The human rights defender and her 13-year-old daughter were detained in their Killinochchi home by the Terrorist Investigation Department on 13 March 2014, and Balendran Jeyakumari was subsequently taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department. Prior to her mother's release, Balendran Jeyakumari's daughter was taken into the care of the state.
On 10 March 2015, human rights defender Ms Balendran Jeyakumari was conditionally released upon payment of a bond of 200,000 Sri Lankan Rupees (approximately €1420) pending completion of the investigation. As part of the conditions imposed by the Colombo Chief Magistrate Court for the release, the human rights defender's passport was confiscated and she is required to report to the police twice a month.
Since the enforced disappearance of her husband during the war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Balendran Jeyakumari has led a campaign demanding to know the whereabouts of missing persons who had been arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Sri Lanka. The human rights defender's son disappeared after surrendering to the Sri Lankan army in 2009. Balendran Jeyakumari and her daughter have featured in various video documentaries on the disappeared. Additionally, she has mobilised families in Killinochchi to attend various hearings, protests and meetings and has received visiting diplomats and media personnel.
Balendran Jeyakumari was held for a year under the Prevention of Terrorism Act pending an investigation into charges of harbouring an armed man, who the authorities claim had shot and injured a member of the police. The human rights defender and her 13-year-old daughter were detained in their Killinochchi home by the Terrorist Investigation Department on 13 March 2014, and Balendran Jeyakumari was subsequently taken into custody by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Balendran Jeyakumari's daughter was placed in the care of the state.
It is believed that Balendran Jeyakumari has been targeted by the authorities in connection to her role leading demonstrations during the visit of the United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron to Sri Lanka for a meeting of the Commonwealth nations in November 2013. The human rights defender called for investigations into war crimes and enforced disappearances.
On 13 March 2014, human rights defender Balendran Jeyakumari and her 13-year-old daughter were detained in their Killinochchi home in northern Sri Lanka from approximately 4pm until 10pm.
There are reports that Balendran Jayakumari and her daughter have now been brought to Vavunia for further investigation.
At approximately 4pm on 13 March 2014, Balendran Jayakumari phoned a local politician to complain that her house had been surrounded by army personnel. At 4:30pm an activist and friend of the human rights defender called her and reported that a man intercepted the call and demanded to know who she was and why she was calling the human rights defender. The activist replied that her child is sick in hospital and that she needed Balendran Jayakumari's help, at which point the man cut off the call. After the call, the phone was switched off and no further communication was possible with the human rights defender.
That night, a police spokesperson stated on BBC Tamil that a shooting incident had taken place in Tharmapurum that morning in which a police officer had been injured. He stated that the suspect had escaped but that the house where the suspect was hiding had been identified and two women are being investigated.
In Sri Lanka, the protracted civil war between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) resulted in continuing violence and political tension which still obstructs the work of human rights defenders. The freedoms of expression, assembly and association are seriously limited in the country.
