US bashes biggest democracy for human rights abuses
WASHINGTON - The United States has come down hard on Indias poor human rights record, a country it often hails as the worlds largest democracy, by documenting numerous instance of grave abuses by Indian security forces, especially in the occupied Kashmir.The most significant human rights problems were police and security force abuses, including extrajudicial killings, torture, and rape; widespread corruption at all levels of government; and separatist, insurgent, and societal violence, the State Department said in its Human Rights Report for 2011. The Congressionally mandated report was released by the State Department on Thursday. The Indian government and its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and insurgents, especially in areas of conflict, such as Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeastern States, and the Naxalite belt, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices said. It said: Other human rights problems included disappearances, poor prison conditions that were frequently life threatening, arbitrary arrest and detention, and lengthy pre-trial detention. The judiciary was overburdened, and authorities continued to infringe on citizens privacy rights. The law in some states restricted religious conversion. The report went on: Rape, domestic violence, dowry-related deaths, honour killings, sexual harassment, and discrimination against women remained serious problems. Child abuse, child marriage, and child prostitution were problems. Trafficking in persons and caste-based discrimination and violence continued, as did discrimination against indigenous persons. Forced labour and bonded labour were widespread. Widespread impunity at all levels of government remained a serious problem. Investigations into individual cases and legal punishment for perpetrators occurred, but in many cases a lack of accountability due to weak law enforcement, a lack of trained police, and an overburdened court system created an atmosphere of impunity.Compiled by the State Department on the basis of wide-ranging sources, the report says according to the Institute for Conflict Management, during the year there were 1,074 fatalities in Indiaincluding members of the security forces, individuals classified by the government as terrorists, and civilians.This represented a decrease from 1,902 fatalities in 2010. The Ministry of Home Affairs 2010-11 report noted a downward trend in incidents of violence in Kashmir and all northeast states.On July 2, the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission submitted an interim report, entitled The Enquiry Report of Unmarked Graves in North Kashmir, to the state government.This report was leaked to the press in August but was not made public. According to the media, the report documented 2,156 bodies in unmarked graves at 38 different sites in districts that had been at the heart of the insurgency in the 1990s.The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) remained in effect in Nagaland, Manipur, Assam, and parts of Tripura, and a version of the law was in effect in Jammu and Kashmir.On September 3, the Jammu and Kashmir government claimed that only the central government had the authority to revoke the AFSPA. The disputed regions minister for law and parliamentary affairs declared that the state government could only recommend the laws repeal.Most encounter killings, in which security forces and police killed alleged criminals or insurgents, occurred in areas in conflict, but the practice reportedly occurred elsewhere in the country as well.For example, on August 8, Special Police Officer (SPO) Abdul Majid and territorial army soldier Noor Hussain took a mentally disabled civilian to Surankot forest in Jammu and Kashmir and then launched an operation with the police and the 25 Rashtriya Rifles unit to eliminate a dreaded terrorist in the area. When the bullet-riddled body was found, the SPO said that he wanted to be a constable and the soldier requested a cash reward of 200,000 rupees ($3,790). Both were arrested and charged with murder for the fake encounter. The identity of the victim was not reported.Despite the published recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) that the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) investigate all police encounter deaths, many states did not follow these guidelines and continued to conduct internal reviews only at the discretion of senior officers.Custodial deaths, in which prisoners were killed or died in police custody, also remained a serious problem, and authorities often delayed or failed to pursue prosecutions against members of the police or security forces. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) reported to parliament that there were 186 cases of custodial death due to police torture as of July 31. The MHA 2010-11 annual report stated there were 1,321 cases of custodial death reported to the NHRC by state governments from April to December 2010.NHRC guidelines direct state governments to report to it within 48 hours all cases of deaths in police actions; however, state governments did not consistently comply with the guidelines. The armed forces were not required to report custodial deaths to the NHRC, and the commission did not have the power to investigate the armed forces.On August 9, the Ministry of Home Affairs reported 147 police custodial deaths in 2010-11. Maharashtra had the highest number of deaths at 31, followed by Uttar Pradesh with 15. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) reported 1,436 deaths in judicial custody in 2010, of which 92 were due to unnatural causes such as suicide or murder by other inmates. On March 31, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah informed the state legislative council that there had been 341 alleged deaths in police custody in the territory since 1990.The Special Operations Group of the Jammu and Kashmir police killed Nazim Rashid of Sopor, Kashmir, while he was in custody. Rashid died on July 30, while being held in connection with an investigation into the killing of a labourer. Chief Minister Abdullah of the occupied territory described the killing as a gross human rights violation and promised swift and exemplary action against the three policemen involved. The government suspended the three, charged them with murder, and ordered a magisterial inquiry into the killing. News of the death triggered protests and a heavy deployment of police, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was ordered to prevent further violence. In addition the local government temporarily placed Opposition Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti and separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani under house arrest to prevent them from visiting the town and possibly inflaming tensions. Documenting cases of arbitrary arrest or detention in the South Asian country, the Report says the law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, but both occurred during the year.According to the MHAs most recent annual report (2010-11), citizens in Jammu and Kashmir filed 211 reports of human rights violations against army and central paramilitary personnel. Authorities investigated 208 cases, found 161 false, and judged 47 genuine.In 2004 the government repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which created special courts, allowed the identity of witnesses to be withheld, and allowed admission into evidence of custodial confessions. By law, however, persons arrested under a prior law continue to be prosecuted under that law even after its repeal. There were conflicting reports during the year of how many persons remained detained under POTA.In 1995 the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act was allowed to lapse. Despite its lapse, on March 15, the MHA informed parliament that under the law, 148 persons were convicted; 103 were given life imprisonment, one received the death sentence, five were released after serving 14 years in prison and for good conduct, and seven applications for release were pending. The remainder, convicted under the TADA, remained in jail.The Public Safety Act, which applies only in Jammu and Kashmir, permits state authorities to detain persons without charge or judicial review for as long as two years.During this time family members do not have access to detainees. Detainees are allowed access to a lawyer during interrogation. In practice police in Jammu and Kashmir routinely employed arbitrary detention and denied detainees, particularly the destitute, access to lawyers and medical attention.
US bashes
