UPDATE (India): Schizophrenic patient still detained in solitary confinement after six years

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAU-008-2009
ISSUES: Inhuman & degrading treatment, Police negligence, Prison conditions, Right to health,

Dear friends, 

On 8 September 2008, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) reported on the case of Roy Varghese, a schizophrenic detainee held at Central Jail, Jaipur, Rajasthan, in urgent need of psychiatric treatment. Roy has been in custody since 1992 and despite repeated attempts by human rights defenders to improve his conditions, the government continues to keep him in solitary confinement and deny him mental health care. 

CASE DETAILS 

Roy Varghese is now 51 years old, and was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for drug trafficking in 1992 by the Sessions Judge, Udaipur, Rajasthan (please see our previous appeal AHRC-UAC-199-2008). Nine years later he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with schizophrenia. Though Varghese finished his sentence, he could not be discharged from the hospital because he needed further treatment 

In 2003 Varghese allegedly set two mentally ill patients alight, causing their deaths, and he was charged with murder and culpable homicide. However after a medical exam he was pronounced unfit to stand trial. Since then he has been in limbo, detained without charge in Central Jail without hope of release or rehabilitation. He has been in solitary confinement without the treatment he needs for six years. At one point a rehabilitation centre in Bangalore was willing to accept Varghese, but prison authorities would not release him. 

After Sister Mariola, a catholic nun and human rights activist involved the AHRC and the National Human Rights Commission in Varghese’s case, a letter was written to the Director General of Prisons, Rajasthan on 9 February 2009 calling for a report. The complaint is pending, though on 30 April the NHRC informed the Sister that they had received a reply, but couldn’t divulge the contents. 

During this time the Rajasthan authorities have done nothing to improve Varghese’s situation, and the investigation looks set to drag. The AHRC does not expect the Commission or the prison authorities in India to expedite the hearing in Roy’s case—which requires an assessment by a medical board reported to the trial court—but the man needs treatment and access to a lawyer. 

The right to health is fundamental, whether a person has been convicted of a crime or not. Added to this, the prolonged detention of a person in solitary confinement, while being denied important medical treatment is considered torture under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which India has signed.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please write to the authorities cited below, particularly to the National Human Rights Commission of India, requesting that Varghese’s court proceedings be dealt with quickly and efficiently. Please also demand that he receives immediate appropriate medical treatment for his condition and access to a lawyer. 

The AHRC has written a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the Right to Health and Question of Torture calling for intervention in this case.

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear __________, 

INDIA: Schizophrenic patient still detained in solitary confinement after six years 

Name of victim: Roy Varghese, 51; son of Mohammad Khan 
Date of incident: Since 2003, on-going 
Place of incident: Central Jail, Jaipur, Rajasthan 

I am writing to express my concern regarding the case of Roy Varghese, a schizophrenic man who has been awaiting trial and medical assistance for six years without a solution to his plight. Varghese has been kept in solitary confinement at Central Jail, Jaipur, Rajasthan since 2003. 

I am aware that Varghese’s case has been brought to the attention of the authorities in India, the National Human rights Commission (NHRC) in particular. I am informed that upon receipt of a complaint from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the NHRC has taken cognisance of the case and has called for report from the Director General of Prisons, Rajasthan. However, I am appalled to hear that in spite of this, Varghese remains in solitary confinement without medical assistance. 

The continuing detention of this man in solitary confinement and the denial of medical assistance to him violate the Constitution of India; particularly Article 21, which states that: ‘no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law’. Incarcerating a severely mentally-ill man in solitary confinement is not procedure established by law. 

Now that it has been brought to your attention, I request that you take immediate steps to investigate this case and ensure that Roy Varghese is immediately removed from solitary confinement and transferred to a suitable medical institution for treatment and rehabilitation. 

Thank you. 

Yours sincerely, 
—————- 

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: 

1. Chairperson 
National Human Rights Commission 
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg 
New Delhi 110 001 
Fax: + 91 11 23384863 
Email: covdnhrc@nic.in 

2. Mr. Gulab Chand Kataria 
Minister for Home, Jails and Civil Defense 
Government of Rajasthan 
395-B, Civil Lines, Jaipur 
Rajasthan 
INDIA 
Fax: + 91 141 2227362 

3. Dr. Digambar Singh 
Minister for Health and Family Welfare 
Government of Rajasthan 
M-16, Bajaj Nagar, Jaipur 
Rajasthan 
INDIA 
Fax: + 91 141 2227480 

4. Mr. Harish Chandra Meena 
Director General of Police 
Rajasthan Police Headquarters 
Bari Chaupar 
Jaipur – 302 002, Rajasthan 
INDIA 
Fax: + 91 141 2607926 

5. Mr. P. K. Tiwari 
Director General of Prisons 
Central Jail 
Jaipur, Rajasthan 
INDIA 
Fax: + 91 141 2602949 

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme 
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org) 

Document Type : Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID : AHRC-UAU-008-2009
Countries : India,
Issues : Inhuman & degrading treatment, Police negligence, Prison conditions, Right to health,