HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2019 ▪ Illegal Arrest and Detention of a person (Complaint No. HRC/3162/17) In this case, the Commission concluded the fundamental rights of the petitioner under articles 13(1) and (2) of the Constitution were violated by the Police when he was illegally arrested and detained. The evidence demonstrated that the arrest had been made in response to a call received on the police emergency hotline-119. The 1st Respondent who responded to the call had not inquired into the alleged assault by the complainant nor recorded any statements against the complainant. The Commission observed that the complainant had been arrested without a warrant, which could only be done in accordance with Section 32 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act which stipulates the conditions for an arrest without a warrant, i.e. the suspect must have committed a cognizable offence, there should be a reasonable complaint against said offence, and credible evidence of the commission of such a crime or a reasonable suspicion that such a crime was committed should exist. An arrest could only be made if the arresting officer is satisfied that one or more of these conditions are fulfilled. The Commission concluded that the arrest of complainant had not satisfied these conditions. The Commission ordered Rs. 25,000/- to be paid as compensation to the complainant and directed copies of the recommendation be forwarded to the National Police Commission to take disciplinary action against the respondents. 3.2.4. ▪ Multiple rights violations Harassment in the education sector due to religious attire (Complaint No: HRC/TCO/27/18) The complaints were four assistant teachers at a National School in Trincomalee. The complainants alleged that they were prohibited from wearing the Abaya (Islamic religious attire) to work by the Management Committee headed by the Principal of the school. The complainants also stated that the Principal and the Management Committee had shared details of this matter with parties not related to the issue, resulting in creating communal friction between communities that have been co- 60