HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2018 The Commission directed a total of Rs.115, 000 to be paid to the complainant by the Respondents as compensation. A copy of the recommendation was forwarded to the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General to take appropriate action in accordance with the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994 and disciplinary procedures of the Police. 3.3. Suo Motu inquiries The Commission intervened in several issues exercising its own initiative (suo motu) under Section 14 of the Act. Often, issues meriting intervention are identified through media monitoring and individuals or organizations bringing such issues to the attention of the Commission. This activity sees close collaboration between the Investigations and Inquiry Division and the Research and Monitoring Division. In total, the Commission launched 31 suo motu inquiries into different incidents during 2018 (for a full list of suo motu inquiries see appendix 4). ▪ Assault on inmates of the (HRC/Suo/Motu/20/18) Welikada Female Ward The Human Rights Commission received information on 20 August 2018 that there has been a commotion inside Welikada Prison’s Female Ward and that the inmates had been assaulted by the Prison Officers. A team of HRCSL officers visited the Welikada Female ward immediately after receiving such information to assess the situation. In the course of the visit, the Commission found out that several inmates had been transferred to other prisons immediately after the alleged assault. The initial visit was followed by a second visit to the Welikada Female Ward where the officers of the Commission obtained statement from the remaining inmates who alleged that they were assaulted by prison officers on the day of the incident. The Commission obtained a list of transferred prisoners from the prison authorities and visited the prisons 58