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 8, 2007, Mr. Gopen Sharma was arrested by police officers while visiting the Kaharpara Border Out Post of the Border Security Force (BSF) camp in order to collect information on three cases of human rights violations that would have been committed by the BSF, following complaints lodged to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
At the Out Post n°1, Mr. Sharma was suddenly assaulted by an unknown individual, Mr. Achinto Sarkar, who argued that one of his co-villager would owe him some money. As Mr. Sharma asked for protection to the local BSF, he was instead taken into custody and immediately handed over to Ranninagar Police Station, where no memo of the arrest was shown to Mr. Gopen Sharma. When arrived at the police station, Mr. Gopen Sharma lodged a complaint against his assailant, who was then also arrested. Yet, the police did not register a First Information Report (FIR), which is the actual registering of a case when receiving a complaint.
During his arrest, Mr. Gopen Sharma was reportedly threatened and insulted by a police officer, who accused him of filing complaints with human rights groups against the police and the BSF. In addition, the police seized all documents and papers regarding the complaints to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Mr. Gopen Sharma’s mobile phone.
When informed about these facts, Mr. Kirity Roy contacted the Ranninagar Police Station. He was then told that both Mr. Gopen Sharma and Mr. Achinto Sarkar had been placed in custody.
Mr. Gopen Sharma was reportedly charged under sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document), of the Indian Penal Code, and faces up to ten years’ imprisonment.
On February 9, 2007, Mr. Gopen Sharma appeared before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate of Lalbagh, Murshidabad, who decided to send Mr. Gopen Sharma to judicial remand until February 22, 2007. In addition, the bail petition that Mr. Sharma’s lawyer had lodged on his behalf was rejected.
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about this arrest, and fears that it could be a pretext to sanction Mr. Sharma’s activities in favour of human rights. It is worth noting that these events follow a fact-finding mission carried out on February 1, 2007 by Mr. Henri Tiphagne, Executive Director of People’s Watch, Mr. Kirity Roy, Mr. Biplap Mukherjee, State Programme Coordinator of the NPPT for West Bengal, and Mr. Gopen Sharma, to make inquiries into human rights violations perpetrated by police officers against local villagers. When the fact-finding team reached the area, the BSF staff at the BSF Khayer Tala Border Out Post threatened and harassed the four human rights activists.
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. Gopen Sharma;
ii. release him immediately and unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary;
iii. put an end to any kind of reprisals against 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:
– Ranninagar Police Station, Tel: +91-3481-238038. Mr. Sunayan Basu, Officer-in-Charge of Ranninagar Police Station, Tel: + 91 9732745592.
– Mr. Rahul Srivastava, Superintendent of Police of District Murshidabad, Mobile phone: + 91 9434750751.
– Shri Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, 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 Mr. Y.K. Sabharwal, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India, 1 Tilak Marg, New Delhi, Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
– Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, Tel: +91 11 230 74448, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@nic.in
– Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister of Manipur, Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Babupara, Imphal, Manipur, Fax: +91 385 222 1817, Email: cmmani@hub.nic.in
– Justice W. A. Shishak, Chairperson, Manipur State Human Rights Commission, Courts Complex Lamphelpat, Imphal, Manipur, India, Fax: +91 385 410472.
– H.E. Mr. Swashpawan Singh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9 (6ème étage), 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 9, 2007
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
[1] People’s Watch is a human rights organisation involved in diverse field of activities in the nature of human rights monitoring, intervention and legal assistance, in particular in Tamil Nadu. People’s Watch also implements a project that is funded by the European Union, the "National Project on Prevention of Torture in India" (NPPT).