Interview with Manushika Cooray: Sri Lankan Anti-torture Lawyer and Innovative Lawyers Award Winner
Manushika Cooray of Human Rights Law Chambers, winner of one of REDRESS’s Innovative Lawyers Awards, spoke with REDRESS about tackling torture in Sri Lanka as a female lawyer and advancing the anti-torture movement.
Manushika is a founding partner of the Human Rights Law Chamber, which handles cases related to human rights violations, and a consultant on human rights and legal researcher at the Centre for Society and Religion in Colombo.
Why did you become a human rights lawyer?
It has been my dream since childhood to become a lawyer. When I was a child, I saw a lot of injustices.
Thus, I completed my Bachelor of Law at the Faculty of Law at the University of Colombo in 2020. During my degree, I chose to study International Humanitarian Law. As I studied, I became very interested in learning human rights law related to international humanitarian law due to the harassment and injustice [suffered by] people in the world. Therefore I selected Human Rights Law and a few courses related to Human Rights due to my desire to be a human rights lawyer. However accordingly with my theoretical knowledge about human rights, I decided to gain practical knowledge because of my aspiration. Therefore, I joined the ‘Research Assistant – Social Justice and Human Rights’ post at the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo. Since 2021, I have been working there as a human rights consultant. Gradually, my work turned me into a human rights defender with a passion for human rights. In 2022, I gave oaths as an attorney at law, which increased my capacity to work on human rights issues. In 2023, I started reading for a Master of Human Rights and Democratisation at the University of Colombo and completed it in 2025 due to my strong desire to gain more knowledge on human rights.
I believe I became a human rights lawyer by studying the subject matter driven by my desire to assist people who have no recourse against injustice, to represent them before the law, and to help them win their rights.
What does it mean to be a human rights lawyer in Sri Lanka, and what kind of pressures have you faced and how have you addressed them?
In Sri Lanka, the general public believes that human rights lawyers are simply those who appear in the Supreme Court for fundamental rights cases. However, based on my experience, being a human rights lawyer encompasses much more than that. There are numerous roles a human rights lawyer can undertake within the legal field. When a person’s rights have been violated, or appear to have been violated, you can represent the aggrieved party in the Magistrate Court or the High Court. You can also represent victims before the Human Rights Commission and the Right to Information Commission and support the complaints and appeals to the relevant commissions. It is also possible to protect the rights of victims by filing cases and appearing in every jurisdiction in a very creative manner.
[Throughout my career] working as a human rights lawyer, I have mainly been embarrassed by the actions of the police. I had an experience when some police officers behaved very badly and did not allow me to go with the victim inside the police station and even took my phone. In this case, I explained the law to the higher [ranking] officers at the police station and obtained permission to represent the victim. I think that if I had not properly studied the applicable law and if I had not talked to the relevant officials in those instances, my freedom to engage in a lawful occupation could have been violated.
What are the main contexts in which torture occurs in Sri Lanka and who are the principal perpetrators of torture?
In most of the cases that I work on, the police officers are seen as the perpetrators of fundamental rights violations related to torture. Mr. Deshabandu Tennakoon, who was last appointed to the position of Inspector General of Police in Sri Lanka, was also a respondent for the violation of fundamental rights related to torture. I am not saying that all police officers are wrong. Some Police Officers treat people very kindly. In one fundamental rights case I’m working on, the respondents are excise officers. But there are also many cases of domestic violence, murder, rape and etc in Sri Lanka where torture also happens. In my opinion, torture occurs in the context of the use of force by the person with power to hurt the person with less power.
Is it difficult to work in a system where the police are the main perpetrators of torture?
It is difficult, there are times when we receive some threats, but this depends on the context of the case that we are working on.
Could you talk about an initiative that you’ve worked on in Sri Lanka that has contributed to advancing the movement against torture?
I am a founding partner of a law firm called the Human Rights Law Chamber. It contributes to advancing the global movement against torture. We filed different cases for the same incident in different aspects like writ, fundamental right cases against torture. As an example, we filed a fundamental rights case against the perpetrators because they violated the fundamental rights of the victim. Regarding the same incident, we filed a writ case because relevant officials did not file indictments in the High Court against the perpetrators. We also use the media to raise awareness about the torture incident and to get attention from the relevant officials. I also work with different organisations that support torture victims, like the Human Rights Office in Kandy.
How do you see the work of human rights lawyers in Sri Lanka developing in the near future and what are the next steps in challenging torture?
We have started the Human Rights Law Chamber, which deals with cases related to human rights violations. In the Chamber, interns and apprentices who train to become lawyers receive special training in appearing in cases related to human rights. Through it, it is possible to stand for more legal work regarding human rights violations than working as a lawyer alone. We also [serve] as resource persons for public awareness programmes, and we hope that my partner and I in the Chamber will be able to use the UN mechanisms and make relevant complaints to UN bodies and make interventions through the law firm when necessary using knowledge. We also hope to collaborate with international organisations in anti-torture work.
What are the challenges as a female human rights lawyer in Sri Lanka? What motivates you to carry on working in this field?
Being a female lawyer working in human rights, there were some difficulties that I had to face. In some cases, I have had to leave the Panadura area where I live at around 4 in the morning to appear in courts in an area far away from Colombo. There is a culture in Sri Lanka that girls are not sent alone so early in the morning. Sometimes, my mother and father even accompanied me to visit courts in distant places. In some cases some civil society organizations provided transportation facilities. But even some of my relatives criticized me, and questioned me as to what I get from working for human rights. They say that as a woman, I just have to work in one place. Fortunately, my parents and husband have supported me in my work and I was able to overcome those challenges.
The reason that motivates me to be in this field is the belief (feeling) that if a person’s human rights have been violated due to torture or some other act or omission, that person should get justice by the law and the belief that I can act to ensure that. Also, having my mother, father and husband, who help me in everything I do, is a great strength for me. Mr. Suren D. Perera, who is my teacher and my senior in the legal profession, advises me and supports me in all those things when I deal with torture and any violation of human rights. Also, Mr. Ruki Fernando and Father Rohan Silva, gave me advice and encouraged me to work in this field.
I’m proud and happy about every moment that I work in human rights and against torture, from small things to big things.
About the Awards
REDRESS’s Innovative Lawyers Awards aim to recognise the vital work of new and emerging anti-torture champions, expose them to a broader peer support network, offer them some financial support to pursue public interest litigation, and to inspire other lawyers and practitioners. This support is made available through the United Against Torture Consortium, which is funded by the European Union