Home / News / Urgent Appeals / INDIA: Human rights activist facing death threats in Varanasi

INDIA: Human rights activist facing death threats in Varanasi

November 21, 2007

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

21 November 2007
------------------------------------------------------
UA-326-2007: INDIA: Human rights activist facing death threats in Varanasi

INDIA: Threats to human rights defenders; corruption; police inaction
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) regarding the case of Mr. Prem Kumar Nut, a human rights activist who is facing death threats for approaching the local police to complain against a person in the locality.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Prem Kumar Nut, son of Mr. Mahngu Ram Nut lives in Belwa village of Varanasi district. Prem is a Dalit human rights activist working for the national project on preventing torture in India - Uttar Pradesh, a programme by the Tamil Nadu based Peoples Watch and Uttar Pradesh based People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). Prem works for the rights of the Dalits and the marginalised.

On 23 October, 2007 at about 5pm Prem was coming home riding his motorcycle from the cooperative society in Belwa village. On the road Prem was stopped by Mr. Sanjay Singh, son of Lalji Singh, a resident of Barzi village within the jurisdiction of Phulpur Police Station. When Prem stopped his motorcycle Sanjay started to abuse Prem using vulgar words referring to Prem's mother and sister. Sanjay abused Prem also saying that "You Nut beggars are feeling rich and how dare you complain against me?" Sanjay further threatened Prem that he will shoot Prem and also members of his family. Sanjay also said that he will not allow any human rights activities in the locality and will see to it that all human rights activists associated with Prem and the local human rights group PVCHR will be forced to leave from the locality for organising the Dalit communities in Belwa village.

Sanjay was furious against the local human rights activists since Prem along with his colleague and friend Mr. Mangala Prasad had organised the local Dalit community to protest against the corrupt practices of the village head and also the government officials working in the village. The AHRC has issued an appeal concerning the case of Mangala as UA-305-2007. Sanjay is a person with previous criminal record. In Mangala's case also Sanjay is one of the accused.

On same day Prem filed a complaint at the Phulpur Police Station and on the next day he filed a written complaint to the Senior Superintendent of Police, Varanasi district alleging the facts mentioned above and requested the officer to take appropriate actions. Sanjay's criminal record says that he was in police custody for an earlier crime on which he was released on bail. One of the bail conditions is that Sanjay will not indulge in any other crime and will also stay away from the witnesses in that case. Apparently Sanjay has not only committed yet another crime, but has also breached one of his bail conditions, for which in law, Sanjay's bail could be canceled.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send letters to relevant offices in Uttar Pradesh so that Prem is given immediate protection. Please also urge the authorities in Uttar Pradesh that threats to human rights activists cannot be allowed. The AHRC has written a separate letter to Ms. Hina Jilani, United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders calling for urgent intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter

Dear __________,

INDIA: Human rights activist facing threats for complaining to the local police

Name of victim: Mr. Prem Kumar Nut, son of Manghu Ram Nut, residing at Belwa village, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh
Name of alleged perpetrator: Mr. Sanjay Singh, son of Lalji Singh, residing at Barzi village, Varanasi district, Uttar Pradesh
Date of incident: On 23 October 2007

I am writing to express concern about the case of Mr. Prem Kumar nut, a human rights activist who is facing death threats for complaining against a local criminal, Mr. Sanjay Singh.

I am informed that on 23 October, 2007 at about 5pm Prem was coming home riding his motorcycle from the cooperative society in Belwa village. On the road Prem was stopped by Mr. Sanjay Singh. When Prem stopped his motorcycle Sanjay started to abuse Prem using vulgar words. It is alleged that Sanjay further threatened Prem that he will shoot Prem and also members of his family. Sanjay also said that he will not allow any human rights activities in the locality and will see to it that all human rights activists associated with Prem and the local human rights group PVCHR will be forced to leave from the locality for organising the Dalit communities in Belwa village.

I am concerned about the recurrent reports of threats to human rights activists from Uttar Pradesh. I am also aware that in several cases reported from Uttar Pradesh, the activists who face threats are those who work for the Dalit community in rural villages. I am worried about this pattern of abuses against human rights activists and their work, particularly when threats are delivered through local criminals against which the police are taking no credible action.

I am aware that in Prem's case, the accused Sanjay is a person who was recently released on bail after being charged for a crime. I am worried why the local police are not reporting such incidents to the Magistrate and Sessions Courts in the state.

I therefore urge you to take appropriate actions in this case and request you that an inquiry is ordered into this case and that based on Prem's complaint a case is registered against Mr. Sanjay Singh. I also urge you to take appropriate actions so that immediate protection is provided to Prem and his family and also to all other human rights activists associated with the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights working in Belwa village of Varanasi district.

Yours sincerely,

---------------------

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Ms. Mayawati
Chief Minister
Chief Minister's Secretariat, Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91-522-2230002/2239234
Email: csup@up.nic.in 

2. Ms. Veena Kumari
District Magistrate
Varanasi, Kachahari, Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 542 2501450

3. Mr. Shripad Sirodakar
Senior Superintendent of Police
Varanasi, SSP Office, Kachahari, Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Email: sspvns@up.nic.in

4. Dr. Kashmir Singh
Inspector General of Police
Varanasi Zone
Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Email: igzonevns@up.nic.in

5. Mr. Vikram Singh
Director General of Police
1-Tilak Marg, Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 522 2206120, 2206174
Email: police@up.nic.in 

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-326-2007
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.