India

Active Cases

India: Re-arrest of human rights defender Ms Irom Chanu Sharmila

Posted on 2010/03/12

Human rights defender Ms Irom Chanu Sharmila was re-arrested on 10 March 2010 and charged with attempting to commit suicide. Irom Chanu Sharmila had just been released from the security ward of Jawaharlal Nehru (JN) Hospital two days previously, 8 March 2010. 

• arrest
• Front Line
• human rights
• Human Rights Defenders
• protection

• India

India: Death threats, harassment and intimidation against human rights defender Mr Aftab Alam

Posted on 2010/02/26

Human rights defender Mr Aftab Alam received death threats and was the subject of harassment and intimidation on 9 February 2010. Aftab Alam is a weaver by trade and is associated with the Peoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR). 

• death threats
• Front Line
• harassment
• human rights
• human rights defender
• intimidation

• India

India: Arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment of human rights defender Mr Devi Singh Rawat

Posted on 2010/02/03

Human rights lawyer Devi Singh Rawat was arbitrarily arrested on 31 January 2010 and subsequently ill-treated whilst in detention. Devi Singh Rawat works actively on torture cases in India. He was involved in the National Project on Prevention of Torture (NPPT) in India between 2006 and 2008. In January 2010, on the request of the State Law Officer of the NPPT, Devi Singh Rawat filed a case against officials from the Adarsh Nagar Police Station in the Ajmer District of Rajasthan for the torture of two individuals. Although the police officials tried on 30 January 2010 to persuade him to withdraw the case, Devi Singh Rawat refused to do so. 

• arbitrary arrest and ill-treatment
• Front Line
• human rights
• human rights defender

• India

There is a vibrant and diverse range of non-governmental organizations active in India the majority of whom enjoy a large degree of freedom of association and freedom of expression, however, serious concerns remain about the protection and security of human rights defenders working in some areas and on some issues. In some instances, defenders are subjected to arbitrary arrests and detentions and their personal safety is put at risk. In particular, defenders highlighting alleged human rights abuses by the police and military forces and defenders campaigning on environmental issues and land rights have been targeted.

According to the UN Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders, “defenders in India are active on a wide range of civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights such as caste discrimination, child rights, environmental issues, globalisation and human rights, housing rights, indigenous rights, LGBT rights, women’s rights and trafficking”. These include defenders advocating non-discrimination against dalits, adivasis and other indigenous people and those seeking to uphold human rights in Jammu and Kashmir and other areas of civil unrest. A potential barrier to the operational freedom of human rights organisations is the Foreign Contribution Regulation Bill 2006 which, if adopted, would significantly restrict the foreign funding of non-governmental organisations. Freedom of assembly is guaranteed by the Indian Constitution but limited in practice, with, for example, demonstrations highlighting the adverse environmental and social impact of the Narwada dam project being broken up by the police with excessive force. Defenders campaigning on these and other human rights issues have reportedly been subjected to restrictions on freedom of movement, arbitrary arrests, detentions and criminal charges, torture and ill-treatment while in police custody, harassment, threats, attacks and extra-judicial killings. According to the UN Special Representative, there is an apparent pattern of impunity for violations committed against human rights defenders.