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, Dr. Binayak Sen has been placed under solitary confinement at the Raipur Central Jail, in Chattisgarh, since March 15, 2008.
Dr. Binayak Sen has been detained since May 14, 2007 under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2006 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 2004 for alleged links with the Naxalite Maoist guerrilla. The Observatory recalls that both these laws have been widely criticised for being extremely vague and subjective on what is deemed unlawful and for giving arbitrary powers to the State to silence all dissent.
Within the framework of his human rights activities, Dr. Sen has helped to organise fact-finding campaigns on human rights violations in the State of Chattisgarh, including custodial deaths, fake confrontations, hunger deaths, dysentery epidemics, malnutrition etc. Shortly before his arrest, he had denounced exactions committed in Chattisgarh in the framework of the so-called "Salwa Judum" in Dantewara District. Salwa Judum - literally translated as "Peace Festival" or "Peace March" - are campaigns taken up by the police to arm and train civilians to form paramilitary vigilance units to combat Naxalism. In particular, he had denounced the alleged involvement of the police into the unlawful killing, on March 31, 2007, of 12 adivasis or tribal people.
The Observatory expresses its deepest concern about the solitary confinement and ongoing arbitrary detention of Dr. Binayak Sen, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning his human rights activities. As a consequence, the Observatory calls upon the Indian authorities to release Dr. Binayak Sen immediately and unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning his human rights activities.
The Observatory also 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" [1].
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 Dr. Binayak Sen;
ii. Release Dr. Binayak Sen immediately and unconditionally, as his detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
iii. Guarantee his unconditional access to his lawyers and his relatives;
iv. Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Dr. Binayak Sen as well as against all human rights defenders in India;
v. 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";
vi. 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
· Dr. Raman Singh, Chief Minister, Chief Minister’s Office, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Fax: +91 771 2221306. Email: cmcg@nic.in
· Mr. Ramvichar Netam, Home Minister, Office of the Home Minister, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Email: hmin.cg@nic.in
· Mr. Shivraj Singh, Chief Secretary, Government of Chhattisgarh, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India. Fax: +91 771 2221206. Email: cs-cg@nic.in / shivraj@nic.in
· 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. Balakrishnan, 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
· 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, April 11, 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