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 July 17, 2007, at around 15:50 pm, Mr. Subash Mohapatra was arrested in the office of Chhatisgarh State Human Rights Commission, in Raipur, by the Gol Bazar Police of Chhattisgarh. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Mohapatra was filing a reply (i.e. to submit his comments on the investigation report) upon request of the Commission, regarding a case of a Dalit student1, FFDA had previously transmitted to the Commission (case no. HRC/DRG/132/2007). Mr. Mohapatra alleged that Mr. Binod Agrwal, a clerck for the Commission, asked him for money in order to file his comments. When he refused to pay the bribe, he was physically abused and prevented from leaving the office by a group of seven persons. In particular, they beat him on the back side of his neck, and abused him with flithy languages.
Mr. Mohapatra was first detained in the office of the Joint Secretary of the Commission for half an hour. Then, two police officers came and forcefully brought him into the Gol Bazar Police Station and put him into the hawalat (police custody), without showing any arrest warrant and/or any charge. They also took away his cell phone and his purse. Mr. Mohapatra was not allowed to inform to his colleagues and/or relatives. After being detained for three hours, Mr. Mohapatra was brought to the City Kotwali police station, where he was interrogated for his alleged connections to the armed Naxalite movement till 9:00 p.m. Mr. Mohapatra was then brought back to the Gol Bazar police station, before being released on bail at 10.30 pm.
Mr. Subash Mohapatra was charged under Sections 186 ("obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions"), 353 ("assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty"), 294 ("obscene acts and songs") and 506 ("punishment for criminal intimidation") of the Indian Penal Code on the basis of the First Investigation Report (FIR) submitted by Mr. Binod. All these four sections are offences that can receive bail. Mr. Mohapatra is expected to appear before the Judicial Magistrate Court of Raipur on August 6, 2007.
According to the information received, although Mr. Mohapatra lodged a complaint to the Gol Bazar Police, they did not lodge a FIR and thus did not open any investigation into the acts of ill-treatments against him.
As the Director of FFDA, Mr. Mohapatra has filed over 300 complaints to Chhattisgarh State Human Rights Commission on issues of human rights violations that occurred in the State during 2001-2007. Violence by Maoist groups, security forces and paramilitaries is indeed common in Chhattisgarh. Most recently, on May 15, 2007, Mr. Mohapatra wrote an open letter to the acting Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission on extrajudicial killings in which 12 tribals of Panjer and Santoshpur village of Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh would have been killed by the State police on April 28, 2007. Mr. Mohapatra also questioned the role of the Commission in its monthly human rights review regarding the complaints filed with them, accusing the Commission of being ineffective and corrupt.
The Observatory is deeply concerned about the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Mohapatra as well as about the judicial proceedings against him, as they seem to merely sanction his human rights activities. As a consequence, the Observatory urges the Indian authorities to put an end to any kind of harassment against him.
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. Subash Mohapatra;
ii.Conduct a fair, impartial and independent investigation into the allegations of ill-treatment against Mr. Mohapatra in order to identify the authors, bring them to trial and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crimes;
iii.Put an end to any act of harassment, including judicial harassment, against Mr. Subash Mohapatra, 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:
– 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 K. G. Balkrishnan, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, Tilak Marg, New Delhi -1, 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, Tel: +91 11 230 74448, Fax: +91 11 2334 0016, Email: chairnhrc@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, July 24, 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.