UPDATE (India): Human rights defender assaulted for pursuing a case

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received additional information concerning the case of Ms. Hasina Kharbhih, a human rights defender working against human trafficking in India. We have been informed that on May 27 Kharbhih, while on her way to the court for the hearing of her case, was stopped, threatened and manhandled by Ms. Bethswa Dympep, the accused in a human trafficking case. Kharbhih was injured in the incident and had to be taken to the local hospital for treatment. It is also reported that the perpetrators are receiving clandestine support from the police. 

UPDATED INFORMATION: (According to the victim and other local rights activists) 

Hasina Kharbhih is a human rights defender leading the Impulse NGO Network, a local human rights organisation based in Shillong, Meghalaya. On 25 March 2009, the AHRC reported concerns for Kharbhih’s security (AHRC-UAC-029-2009). 

On May 27, Kharbhih and her colleague were on their way to the District Council Court to give their statement concerning a case involving death threats to Kharbhih. Since there was a traffic block, Kharbhih had to get out from their vehicle and walk towards the court. Not far from the court compound, the accused in the case, Ms. Bethswa Dympep, stopped her and started threatening her and her colleague, claiming that if they continued with the case, Kharbhih would face terrible consequences, including the closure of the Impulse NGO Network. When Kharbhih replied that such matters were for the court to decide, Dympep assaulted her. Dympep was accompanied by her mother who also shouted abuse. 

The victim immediately went to the Lumbiengri Police Station to report the matter. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered and since she was injured, the police asked Kharbhih to seek medical treatment, which she did. Three police officers searched the court compound for Dympep, but finding she was inside the court, didn’t arrest her. The officers later told Kharbhih and her lawyer that Dympep had escaped from their view. 

Later Kharbhih was contacted by the Press Trust of India, telling her that Dympep has called a press conference at the Shillong Press Club. In the press meeting Dympep reportedly accused Kharbhih of assaulting her, while claiming that she is being backed by a business group in the country and that she will ensure the closure of the Impulse NGO Network soon. 

The AHRC and several other civil society organisations inside and outside of India are worried for Kharbhih, and have been calling on the state administration of Meghalaya, particularly the state police, to ensure her protection–and that of others involved in the case. 

From the start of the case Kharbhih and her colleagues have been receiving life threatening telephone calls, demanding their legal withdrawal and that they stop investigating all cases of human trafficking involving Dympep and her alleged employer, a private airline company in India chaired by Mr. Vijay Mallya. While the factual basis of claims by Dympep are yet to be verified, it is a known fact that Kharbhih continues to receive death threats, and that the local police have thus far refused to take any appropriate action against the assailant. A few days before the assault, Kharbhih’s website was hacked into and the contents destroyed. 

Dympep’s act of assaulting and threatening Kharbhih and her colleague is also a direct violation of her bail conditions. The AHRC wonders why the District Council Court has not simply recalled Dympep’s bail order and had her taken into judicial custody. In spite of repeated requests the local police have also refused to take any affirmative action on Kharbhih’s behalf. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please support Kharbhih and her investigation into human trafficking by writing to the Indian authorities, requesting that all necessary action be taken to guarantee her safety, and that Dympep be thoroughly investigated and charged accordingly. 

The AHRC is also writing separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights defenders, and on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, calling for their intervention in this case. 

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