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INDIA: A lawyer's life is at risk after custodial torture

February 25, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-015-2010



25 February 2010
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INDIA: A lawyer's life is at risk after custodial torture

ISSUES: Human rights defenders; impunity; custodial torture
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that a lawyer in Manipur is in a severe condition following torture in custody. So far no proper investigation has been conducted and no complaint has been registered. It is believed that the victim's injuries may be fatal.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Ramananda Taorem is a lawyer practicing in Imphal, Manipur. He was arrested on 14 September 2009 at about 3pm at the office of the All Manipur United Clubs Organisation (AMUCO) by officers from the Imphal West Police Commando Unit. According to our information the arresting officers had no arrest memo, which is a statutory requirement in Indian law. He was taken to a nearby police station, then to the Police Commando Complex at Minuthong where he was allegedly assaulted and tortured with electric shocks to his genitals.

Ramananda was accused by police of being a member of an armed opposition group that operates in the state, and a case was registered against him under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; Official Secrets Act, 1923; the National Security Act, 1980 and under Sections 121 and121-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The police produced him in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Imphal, where the magistrate ruled that he should be remanded in custody for 15 days.

The authorities detained the victim at the Sajiwa Central Jail until December 2009, where, like most other detainees he was denied the basic facilities necessary to sustain his life, including warm clothes and a bed. The victim was forced to sleep on the cement floor despite his injuries from the police torture.

At the time of arrest Ramananda was receiving treatment for cardiac ailments, and his conditions of detention and torture worsened his condition. We are told that the police denied requests by Ramananda's family to send him medicines from outside the jail.

The authorities released the victim on 24 December and the state government withdrew all cases against him, raising serious doubts regarding the grounds for his arrest. The AHRC would like to note that this is a routine occurrence, as you can read in our reports on the detention and torture of Mr. Jiten Yumnam, a human rights defender (UAC-122-2009). Yumnam was arrested in similar circumstances in Manipur on the same day.

After his release from custody Ramananda was admitted to Manipur's Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) on 27 December in poor physical condition and unable to speak. His right leg is suffering from monoparesis (paresis affecting a single extremity or part of a limb), which badly affects his mobility, and he was also diagnosed with pneumonia, cerebral embolism and as a result, facial nerve palsy. Doctors have told him that advanced and specialised medical treatment will be necessary otherwise his injuries could become fatal. He is finding difficult to return to normal life.

For further details regarding incidents related to this case involving other persons arrested along with Ramananda, please see AHRC-UAU-026-2009. Please also read: Impunity must END in Manipur and The state of the republic is showcased in Manipur for further details regarding the use of force by state agencies in Manipur and related issues.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write to the authorities named below to guarantee Ramananda's safety and to urge an investigation in the incident.

The AHRC has written a separate letter to the Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment calling for an intervention in this case. 

To support this appeal please click here:  

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear …………….,

INDIA: The government must investigate the case of torture of Mr. Ramananda Taorem

Name of the victim: Mr. Ramananda Taorem, human rights lawyer, Manipur
Name of the alleged perpetrators: Officers associated with Imphal West Police Commando Unit, Manipur
Date of incident: September 14, 2009

I am writing to express my concern regarding the case of torture of Mr. Ramananda Taorem, a human rights lawyer working in Manipur. I am informed that he was arrested by officers from the Imphal West Police Commando Unit on 14 September, 2009.

I am concerned to know that after arrest the police tortured Ramananda in custody, and later accused him of having committed crimes registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; Official Secrets Act, 1923; the National Security Act, 1980 and under Sections 121 and121-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. I am also aware that the victim was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate and remanded in custody. I am informed that until his release from custody on 24 December Ramananda was denied proper medical treatment.

From the injuries he suffered from torture and the illegal treatment meted out against him in custody Ramananda is now is in a critical state. I have been informed that his physical as well as mental health is deteriorating rapidly since then.

I am informed that soon after release the cases against Ramananda were withdrawn unilaterally by the government, an action that raises serious suspicion regarding the reason for his arrest. I call for your immediate intervention in the victim’s case and demand a full investigation into the behaviour of the police.

I urge you to take necessary actions to ensure that:

1. The statement of Ramananda must be recorded by a magistrate immediately;
2. If the statement reveals a case of torture and ill treatment, an investigation must be ordered into the case, which must be supervised by a Judicial Magistrate as allowed in the rules laid down by the Supreme Court of India;
3. Ramananda must be provided immediate security;
4. The officers suspected in the case must be immediately suspended from active service;
5. The state government must provide immediate assistance to Ramananda so that he could seek appropriate medical assistance.

Yours Sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Pratibha Patil Devi,
President, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhawan,
New Delhi, 110004
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23017290
E-mail: pressecy@Sansad. nic.in

2. Mr. Okram Ibobi
Chief Minister & Home Minister of Manipur,
Chief Minister's secretariat Babupara,
Imphal 795001 Manipur
INDIA
Fax: + 91 385 2221817
Email: cmmani@man.nic.in

3. Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001 INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23340016
E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in

4. Dr. P. Chidambaram
Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs
Griha Mantralaya Room
No. 104, North Block Central Secretariat, New Delhi 110001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 2301 5750, 2309 3750, 2309 2763
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-015-2010
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.