India
15.12.03
Urgent Interventions
India: Torture of 13-year-old boy
Case IND 151203.CC
Arbitrary detention/Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission HK, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary detention and torture of 13-year-old Salauddin Sk. by members of the Magrahat Police Station, South Parganas District, West Bengal, India.
According to the information received, on October 16th 2003, police officers came to Salauddin's home while searching for his older brother and arrested him instead. They brought him to the Magrahat police station, where he was stripped and beaten with sticks and fists. Then, some policemen tied a brick with one end of a rope, while tying the other end to his penis and testicles jointly. The young boy was held and tortured at the station during four days, until the police charged him with a fictitious case and brought him to the court on October 20th 2003. There he got released on bail.
Mr. Tamal Das, Officer-In-Charge of the Magrahat police station, reportedly claims to have no information about this case and said that he would proceed to an enquiry. However, no serious action has yet been taken by the police to investigate this case.
The detention and torture of Salauddin is in flagrant violation of Indian law, including the Constitution which states in Art. 22 (2) that "every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours (...)" and the Indian Juvenile Justice Act of 1986, which states in its section 41 that "unnecessary mental or physical suffering shall be punishable (...)".
OMCT recalls that India is a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states in its Art. 37 that (a): "No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and (b) no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the alleged brutal torture of the 13-year-old boy and urges the Indian authorities to launch an impartial investigation into the circumstances of this event, in order to bring perpetrators to justice and to award reparation to the victim.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of this arrest, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victim of this abuse;
iii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical and psychosocial assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to Salauddin;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, President's Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, INDIA, Fax: 91-11-(2)3017290 & (2)3017824, e-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in
· Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minster of India, Prime Minster's Office, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011, Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857
· Mr. L. K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, North Block, room 104, Central Secretariat, New Delhi - 110 001, Fax: 91 + 11 309 4221
· National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Parliament Street, New Delhi, PIN 110001, India, Fax No. 91 + 11 + 23366537, e-mail: ionhrc@hub.nic.in
· Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Parliament Street, New Delhi, Pin. 110001, India, e. mail. chairnhrc@nic.in
· Mr. Soli Sorabjee, Attorney General of India, Office of the Attorney General of India, Supreme Court of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi-110001, India, Fax: 91 + 11 + 23782101, Official Residence: 10 Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110011,
· Tel/Fax: 91 + 11 + 23010525/ 23018696, Fax: 91 + 11+ 24354014
· Mr. N. Gopalaswami, Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: 91 + 11 + 23793003
· Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal, Fax: +91 33 22145480, Email: cm@wb.gov.in
· Shri Justice Mukul Gopal Mukherji, Chairperson. West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani bhavan, Alipore, Calcutta-700027, Fax: +91 33 4799633
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, December 15, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary detention/Torture
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission HK, a member of the OMCT network, of the arbitrary detention and torture of 13-year-old Salauddin Sk. by members of the Magrahat Police Station, South Parganas District, West Bengal, India.
According to the information received, on October 16th 2003, police officers came to Salauddin's home while searching for his older brother and arrested him instead. They brought him to the Magrahat police station, where he was stripped and beaten with sticks and fists. Then, some policemen tied a brick with one end of a rope, while tying the other end to his penis and testicles jointly. The young boy was held and tortured at the station during four days, until the police charged him with a fictitious case and brought him to the court on October 20th 2003. There he got released on bail.
Mr. Tamal Das, Officer-In-Charge of the Magrahat police station, reportedly claims to have no information about this case and said that he would proceed to an enquiry. However, no serious action has yet been taken by the police to investigate this case.
The detention and torture of Salauddin is in flagrant violation of Indian law, including the Constitution which states in Art. 22 (2) that "every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of 24 hours (...)" and the Indian Juvenile Justice Act of 1986, which states in its section 41 that "unnecessary mental or physical suffering shall be punishable (...)".
OMCT recalls that India is a State party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states in its Art. 37 that (a): "No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and (b) no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time."
The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the alleged brutal torture of the 13-year-old boy and urges the Indian authorities to launch an impartial investigation into the circumstances of this event, in order to bring perpetrators to justice and to award reparation to the victim.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of this arrest, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the victim of this abuse;
iii. intervene with the proper authorities to ensure that adequate medical and psychosocial assistance is provided as a matter of urgency to Salauddin;
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
· Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, President's Secretariat, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, INDIA, Fax: 91-11-(2)3017290 & (2)3017824, e-mail: presidentofindia@rb.nic.in
· Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minster of India, Prime Minster's Office, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi, India-110 011, Fax: 91-11-23019545 / 91-11-23016857
· Mr. L. K. Advani, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, North Block, room 104, Central Secretariat, New Delhi - 110 001, Fax: 91 + 11 309 4221
· National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Parliament Street, New Delhi, PIN 110001, India, Fax No. 91 + 11 + 23366537, e-mail: ionhrc@hub.nic.in
· Justice A.S. Anand, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, Sardar Patel Bhavan, Parliament Street, New Delhi, Pin. 110001, India, e. mail. chairnhrc@nic.in
· Mr. Soli Sorabjee, Attorney General of India, Office of the Attorney General of India, Supreme Court of India, Tilak Marg, New Delhi-110001, India, Fax: 91 + 11 + 23782101, Official Residence: 10 Motilal Nehru Marg, New Delhi-110011,
· Tel/Fax: 91 + 11 + 23010525/ 23018696, Fax: 91 + 11+ 24354014
· Mr. N. Gopalaswami, Home Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs Room No 104, North Block, New Delhi 110 001, India, Fax: 91 + 11 + 23793003
· Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Chief Minister Government of West Bengal, Fax: +91 33 22145480, Email: cm@wb.gov.in
· Shri Justice Mukul Gopal Mukherji, Chairperson. West Bengal Human Rights Commission, Bhabani bhavan, Alipore, Calcutta-700027, Fax: +91 33 4799633
· Ambassadeur Puri Hardeep Singh, Rue du Valais 9 (6ème), CH-1202, Genève, Suisse, E-mail: mission.india@ties.itu.int, Fax: +4122 906 86 96
Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.
Geneva, December 15, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.