The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on February 15, 2008, at 7.30 am, henchmen of Mr. Moorthy, the President of Vellalapatti [1], beat up and arrested Mr. Kanagaraj at his house in Ganaesapuram, and brought him to Mr. Moorthy’s house, where they continued to beat him.
The men then called the police station of Ethapur (Salem district), where a complaint was reportedly registered by Mr. Moorthy against Mr. Kanagaraj [2], and handed him over to police officers. It was reported that Mr. Kanagaraj would also have been beaten at the police station.
On the morning of the same day, Mr. Utharapathy, the Police Inspector, and Mr. Baskaran, the Superintendent of Police of the Salem District, were immediately informed about this over phone by Mr. Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People’s Watch-Tamil Nadu.
At around 5 pm, Mr. Kanagaraj was sent to the hospital of Salem, where he underwent a medical treatment for the injuries that resulted from all the beatings. As of now, Mr. Kanagaraj can be arrested at any moment by the police on the basis of the complaints filed by the President of Velalapatti.
Furthermore, Mr. Moorthy and his henchmen have threatened members of Mr. Kanagaraj’s community that they would face dire consequences if they gave witness statement to the police in his favour. They would also have said that they would kill him once he comes back to the village.
In the past, several cases and complaints had already been registered against Mr. Kanagaraj, and Mr. Moorthy also threatened him at several occasions after Mr. Kanagaraj registered a series of complaints against the President of Vellalapatti on a series of alleged irregularities committed in the framework of his functions, in particular corruption and bribery.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about the arbitrary detention of Mr. Kanagaraj, as it seems to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities. Furthermore, the Observatory recalls that India was elected as a member of the Human Rights Council in 2007 for three years, and has committed, in this regard, to "uphold the highest standards of promotion and protection of human rights" [3].
Action requested:
Please write to the Indian authorities and ask them to:
i.Take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Kanagaraj;
ii.Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations of ill-treatments, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
iii.Put an end to any act of harassment against Mr. Kanagaraj as well as against all human rights defenders in India;
iv.Comply with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", as well as Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
v.Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by India.
Addresses:
Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, President of India, Rastrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110004, India.Fax: Fax: 91-11-23382365, 91-11-23711772
Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, India. Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857
Shri Shivraj Patil, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India. Fax: +91 11 2309 2979.
Justice K. G. Balkrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, Tilak Marg, New Delhi -1, India. Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
Justice Rajendra Babu, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India. Tel: +91 11 230 74448, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@nic.in / patilsv@nic.in
H.E. Mr. Swashpawan Singh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9, 1202 Geneva, Tel: +41 22 906 86 86, Fax: +41 22 906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int
Mr. Dipak Chatterjee, Ambassador, Embassy of India in Brussels, 217 Chaussée de Vleurgat, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 (0)2 6489638 or +32 (0)2 6451869
Please also write to the diplomatic representations of India in your respective countries.
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Geneva - Paris, February 20, 2008
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of human rights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 33 (0) 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT : + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 (0) 22 809 49 29
Email : Appeals@fidh-omct.org