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), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in India.
New information:
ccording to the information received, on September 27, 2008, at about 4 p.m., a police team comprising Mr. Biplab Chakrabarty, Sub Inspector, Mr. Sankar Datta, Sub Inspector, Mr. H.K. Roy, Assistant Sub Inspector of Kolkata Police, Detective Department, Lalbazar, Kolkata entered MASUM’s office in plain clothes, in search of Mr. Kirity Roy, President of MASUM, who at that time was not in the office. The police team ultimately served a notice under Section 91 of the Criminal Procedural Code ("summons to produce document or other thing" [1]), ordering MASUM to produce three documents to Mr. S. Dhar, Detective Department, Kolkata, on October 1, 2008 in the latter’s office at Lalbazar, Kolkata, in connection with Taltolla police investigation No. 134/2008. The documents requested by the police concern three victims of police torture, who produced testimonies before the Peoples’ Tribunal on Torture (PTT) (See background information).
On September 18, 2008, MASUM had filed a Writ Petition No. 25022(W)/ 2008 in the case Kirity Roy vs. State of West Bengal & others before the High Court of Calcutta, challenging the authority of the police to institute investigation No.134/2008 dated June 9, 2008 under Sections 120(B) ("punishment of criminal conspiracy"), 170 ("refusing to answer a public servant authorised to question") and 229 ("personation of a juror or assessor") of the Indian Penal Code against Mr. Kirity Roy, MASUM and others for organising a PTT on June 9 and 10, 2008 in Moulali, Kolkata (See background information).
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about the ongoing acts of harassment against MASUM and the judicial proceedings against Mr. Kirity Roy, as it seems to merely sanction their human rights activities, and recalls that on May 29 and 30, 2008, People’s Watch had already been subjected to police harassment during the PTT, which it organised from May 29 to 31, 2008[2].
The Observatory further 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].
Background information:
On June 9 and 10, 2008, MASUM coordinated the People’s Tribunal on Torture (PTT) in Moulali, Kolkata, during which 1,200 victims and their families were present and 82 victims provided testimonies before the tribunal. This public hearing formed part of the National Project on Preventing Torture in India (NPPTI), a venture funded, supported, and endorsed by the European Union and the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung. The Project’s implementation is overseen by People’s Watch, Madurai, but undertaken by local organisations such as MASUM. Invitation letters were issued to all the concerned officials including Police Commissioner of Kolkata on May 23, 2008 and the letters were received by their offices in time.
Yet, on June 7, 2008, the police visited MASUM’s office, and refused to accept the written explanation of Mr. Kirity Roy, President of MASUM and State Director of the Project, on the legality of the public tribunal. However, the Public Tribunal continued in spite of this uncertainty.
At the hearings before the public tribunal on June 9 and 10, victims of torture by the police and by the Border Security Forces recounted their stories in panels before an audience composed of fellow victims and interested members of the public. The panels were overseen by a Jury of human rights activists, jurists, and medical personnel, co-chaired by Mr. Justice Malay Sengupta (Former Chief Justice, Sikkim High Court) and Dr. Mohini Giri (Former Chairperson, National Commission for Women).
After successful conclusion of the public tribunal, on June 10, 2008, a plain-clothed police officer trespassed into the venue and took photographs without permission. On questioning, he revealed that he had come under the instructions of the Detective Department. Commissioner of Police Mr. Gautam Mohan Chakrabarty was contacted, and he informed Mr. Kirity Roy that a criminal investigation had been opened against him at Taltolla police station for organising the Public Tribunal. The Commissioner refused to disclose further information. People’s Watch then contacted Taltolla police station for details, but they refused to provide any information beyond the confirmation of the existence of charges against Mr. Kirity Roy. It is worth noting that Mr. Kirity Roy was at no time a member of the panel of the public tribunal.
Furthermore, on June 12, 2008, police officers from the Detective Department raided the offices of MASUM. Between ten and twelve officers led by the Assistant Commissioner of Police searched the MASUM premises, while ten armed officers waited outside. They did so with a warrant issued by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Kolkata, but without indicating the motive for such a warrant.
Though the police acted with a warrant, the sheer number of officers involved, coupled with the timing of the raid, suggests that their motivation was one of repression and intimidation rather than law-enforcement.
Action requested:
Please write to the Indian authorities and urge them to:
i. Take all necessary measures to guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Kirity Roy as well as all MASUM members;
ii. Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Kirity Roy, all MASUM members 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, September 29, 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.
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