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, in the night of May 29, 2008, Mr. Ayyanar, a member of the Ottar community and a victim of torture who had taken part in the afternoon in an hearing before the PTT jury, was arrested by the police without any procedures for arrest being followed. Mr. Ayyanar was released a few hours later, following the intervention of Mr. G. Ganesan, State Human Rights Monitoring Officer of People’s Watch in the State of Tamilnadu.
It is worth mentioning that one of the cases heard by the jury in the afternoon concerned acts of torture that were said to be carried out on March 2, 2008 by one Sub-Inspector Mr. Vijayan, then serving at the Kamuthi police station. As a result of the intervention undertaken by People’s Watch in this case, Mr. Vijayan had been transferred to Kenikarai police station. Notice of the hearing before the PTT had been sent to the Superintendent of Police of Ramnad, as well as the District Collector of Ramnad, with a CD containing the details of this and all other cases pertaining to their district that were to be heard by the PTT Jury.
On May 30, 2008, a police officer was found to be standing outside the premises of the venue of the PTT and some participants were arrested after they had apprehended police officers and brought them over to the PTT jury for a discussion. This resulted in injuries caused by the police. These cases of abuse were registered against policemen, in particular thanks to the help of Mr. S. Martin, Advocate and Regional Law Officer at People’s Watch, based in Trichirapalli, as well as Secretary of the Trichirapalli Bar Association and Secretary General of the Federation of Consumer Organisations of Tamilnadu and Pondicherry, who provided support to two injured participants in lodging a complaint at the Sellur police station. At the same time, the Madurai City police also registered false cases against Mr. Henri Tiphagne, the National Director of the NPPTI, Executive Director of People’s Watch and the Member of the National Core Group on NGOs of the National Human Rights Commission of India, Mr. Martin, Mr. Ganesan and Mr. Prabakar, District Human Rights Monitor for Madurai District in Tamilnadu of the NPPTI.
The cases filed against Mr. Henri Tiphagne and Messrs. S. Martin, G. Ganesan, and Prabakar in Crime No. 785/08 are based under sections 147, 342, 366, 323, 332, and 225 of the Indian Penal Code (rioting, wrongful confinement, kidnapping/abducting, voluntarily causing hurt, deterring a public servant from his duty, and resistance/obstruction of lawful apprehension of another person).
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about these acts of harassment and the judicial proceedings against Messrs. Tiphagne, S. Martin, G. Ganesan, and Prabakar, as it seems to merely sanction their human rights activities, and 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"[2].
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. Henri Tiphagne, Mr. S. Martin, Mr. G. Ganesan and Mr. Prabakar;
ii. Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Henri Tiphagne, Mr. S. Martin, Mr. G. Ganesan and Mr. Prabakar as well as all human rights defenders in India;
iii. 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";
iv. 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 V. Patil, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India. Fax: +91 11 2309 2979 / + 91-11- 23094221.
– Justice A.S.Venkatachalamoorthy, Chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission, Thiruvarangam, 143, P.S. Kumarasamy Raja Salai (Greenways Road), Chennai 600 0028. India. Ph: 01-44-24951484, Fax; 91-44-24951484, E.mail: shrc@tn.nic.in
– Dr. M.Karunanidhi, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009 - cmcell@tn.gov.in
– Mr. L. K. Tripathy, IAS, Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009 cs@tn.gov.in
– Ms. S. Malathi, Home Secretary to the Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009; Fx: 044 25670596 E.Mail: homesec@tn.gov.in
– Director General of Police, Radhakrishnan Salai, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004 Please go to the website www.tnpolice.gov.in in that the home page you have a section on mail.
– Commissioner of Police, Madurai the mail ID of cop_mdu@dataone.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
– 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, June 6, 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
[1] West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
[2] See OP9 of General Assembly resolution A/RES/60/251.