Amnesty report slams 25 years of human rights violation in India-held Kashmir
Indian govt has failed its own constitution and international obligations, the report finds
(Web Desk) – The global human rights group Amnesty International has slammed India for lack of accountability amid 25 years of human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir in its latest report titled: “Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir”.
The Amnesty International’s report documents the kind of obstacles there are in the way of accountability for human rights offenders.
Other than highlighting several cases where Indian army personnel were not brought to justice for human rights offenses, the Amnesty report also puts a special focus on Section 7 of the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, 1990 (AFSPA), which grants immunity to armed forces personnel from prosecution.
"Till now, not a single member of the security forces deployed in the state has been tried for human rights violations in a civilian court. This lack of accountability has in turn facilitated other serious abuses"
"Till now, not a single member of the security forces deployed in the state has been tried for human rights violations in a civilian court. This lack of accountability has in turn facilitated other serious abuses,” Minar Pimple, Senior Director of Global Operations at Amnesty International said.
The report notes that 5th July, 2015 will mark the completion of 25 years since enactment of AFSPA and calls for immediate removal of the oppressive law.
Amnesty report has based its research on in-depth on ground analysis in the occupied region, interviews with 58 family members of the victims of human rights violations by security forces, Right to Information requests, examination of police records and interviews with human rights defenders including civil society group and lawyers.
The report says that the federal government has blocked every single attempt to prosecute the alleged offenders in the guise of section 7 of the AFSPA and has kept decisions pending for years. It also documents the lack of transparency in the process.
“Not a single family interviewed for the report had been informed by the authorities of the status or outcome of a sanction request in relation to their case,” said Divya Iyer, Research Manager at Amnesty International India.
Mohammad Amin Magray, uncle of 17-year-old Javaid Ahmad Magray, who was killed in April 2003 by security force personnel, told Amnesty International India,
“If the Army knew they would be charged, and will have to go to court and be prosecuted, they will think ten times before they pull their triggers on an innocent…The AFSPA is a like a blank cheque from the government of India to kill innocents like my nephew”, Amnesty was told by uncle of 17-year-old Javaid Ahmad Magray who was killed in 2003.
“Police and court records pertaining to nearly 100 cases of human rights violations filed by families of victims between 1990 and 2012 showed that the Jammu and Kashmir police often failed to register complaints or take action on registered complaints until they were compelled,” said Divya Iyer. “In some cases, army personnel have been reluctant or refused to cooperate with police investigations.”
The human rights group’s report says that the Indian army has rejected over 96% of the charges saying they are “false or baseless”, however the basis and evidence on which the allegations are rejected are not available publicly. This points to the likelihood of a massive cover up by both the army and the government.
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Amnesty s report has highlighted lack of transparency and availability of public records
In a rare exception, in November 2014, the army had revealed that a court martial had convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment five soldiers for shooting and killing three men in a ‘fake encounter’ – a staged extrajudicial execution - in Machil, Jammu and Kashmir, in 2010.
“The convictions in the Machil case were a welcome measure. But for justice to be consistently delivered, security force personnel accused of human rights violations should be prosecuted in civilian courts,” said Divya Iyer.
Amnesty’s report highlights a growing need of bringing the human rights violation cases outside of the military influence citing a global call of such.
By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own Constitution
“By not addressing human rights violations committed by security force personnel in the name of national security, India has not only failed to uphold its international obligations, but has also failed its own Constitution,” said Minar Pimple.
The Amnesty report can be downloaded and viewed by following this link: Denied: Failures in accountability for human rights violations by security force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir
