India: Repeal Sedition Law
(New York) – The Indian parliament should immediately repeal the colonial-era sedition law, which local authorities are using to silence peaceful political dissent, Human Rights Watch said today. The Indian government should drop sedition cases against prominent activists such as Dr. Binayak Sen, Arundhati Roy, and others, Human Rights Watch said.
Indian doctor Binayak Sen’s conviction and life sentence mock justice
The life sentence handed down against Dr Binayak Sen by a court in the India state of Chhattisgarh violates international fair trial standards and is likely to enflame tensions in the conflict-affected area, Amnesty International has said.
The life sentence handed down against Dr Binayak Sen by a court in the India state of Chhattisgarh violates international fair trial standards and is likely to enflame tensions in the conflict-affected area, Amnesty International said today.
“Life in prison is an unusually harsh sentence for anyone, much less for an internationally recognized human rights defender who has never been charged with any act of violence,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director.
“State and federal authorities in India should immediately drop these politically motivated charges against Dr Sen and release him.”
Dr Binayak Sen was convicted of sedition and conspiracy under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Safety Act, 2005, and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 2004.
He was immediately taken into custody after the announcement of the sentence, having been out on bail since May 2009.
“Dr Sen, who is considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, was convicted under laws that are impermissibly vague and fall well short of international standards for criminal prosecution,” Sam Zarifi said.
“Instead of persecuting Dr Sen, authorities in Chhattisgarh should be acting to protect the people of the region from the abuses committed by the Maoists, as well as state security forces and militias.”
“This sentence will seriously intimidate other human rights defenders who would provide a peaceful outlet for the people’s grievances, especially for the indigenous Adivasi population,” Sam Zarifi said.
India’s central government has acknowledged that the intensifying armed conflict with the Maoists in central India is a reflection of serious inequities and a history of human rights violations in the area. Amnesty International believes that the charges against Dr Sen are baseless and politically motivated.
Dr Binayak Sen is a pioneer of health care to marginalized and indigenous communities in Chhattisgarh, where the state police and armed Maoists have been engaged in clashes over the last seven years.
He has reported on unlawful killings of Adivasis (Indigenous People) by the police and by Salwa Judum, a private militia widely held to be sponsored by the state authorities to fight the armed Maoists.
Dr Binayak Sen was detained without proper charges for seven months, denied bail, and kept in solitary confinement for three weeks. Many of the charges against him stem from laws that contravene international standards. Repeated delays in the conduct of his trial have cast doubts about its fairness.
Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Indian authorities to immediately drop all the charges against Dr Binayak Sen.
India must investigate abduction of indigenous activists
The two activists were abducted on their way to campaign against the bauxite mine project proposed by a subsidiary of UK-based company Vedanta Resources, and the Orissa Mining Corporation.
Amnesty International is calling on Indian authorities to urgently investigate the armed abduction of two indigenous leaders, who were on their way to campaign against the bauxite mine project proposed by a subsidiary of UK-based company Vedanta Resources, and the Orissa Mining Corporation.
The pair were abducted on 9 August in Orissa province, in the east of India. One of the activists, Sana Sikaka, was ‘released’ late last night by being thrown out of a van, and has alleged that the gunmen were police. Lado Sikaka, the most senior leader of the Dongria Kondh indigenous community, is still being held by the gunmen.
Orissa provincial police have remained silent on who was responsible for the abduction, and have not opened any investigation despite requests by activists.
“This allegation of arbitrary detention and abduction of activists must be immediately and transparently investigated,” said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International’s Deputy-Director for the Asia-Pacific. “The Orissa police must show its good faith by securing the release of Lado Sikaka, immediately tracking down and arresting these gunmen.”
Sana Sikaka told local media today that he and a group of activists were stopped by 15 armed plainclothes officers at the foothills of Niyamgiri mountain, as they were leaving in a van to travel to Delhi, where they planned to campaign against the bauxite mine project. The gunmen confiscated the mobile phones of activists and their vehicle. They then detained Lado and Sana Sikaka, driving them towards the neighbouring district of Rayagada where Sana suspects Lado is being held.
The Dongria Kondh indigenous community is known for their activism to protect their sacred mountain Niyamgiri from the proposed bauxite-mine .
Amnesty International urges the Indian authorities to establish a process to seek the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the Dongria Kondh before proceeding with the proposed mine project in Niyamgiri. This must include:
•? providing the Dongria Kondh with accessible and adequate information about the project;
•? undertaking, in genuine and open consultation with the Dongria Kondh, a comprehensive human rights and environmental impact assessment of the project and providing appropriate procedural safeguards to ensure their participation in the assessment process and that their knowledge and perspectives of the Hills are given due weight and respect and;
•? respect the decision of the Dongria Kondh if they do not provide consent to the project.
India must investigate abduction of anti-Vedanta activists
The two activists were abducted on their way to campaign against the bauxite mine project proposed by a subsidiary of UK-based company Vedanta Resources, and the Orissa Mining Corporation.
Amnesty International is calling on Indian authorities to urgently investigate the armed abduction of two indigenous leaders, who were on their way to campaign against the bauxite mine project proposed by a subsidiary of UK-based company Vedanta Resources, and the Orissa Mining Corporation.
The pair were abducted on 9 August in Orissa province, in the east of India. One of the activists, Sana Sikaka, was ‘released’ late last night by being thrown out of a van, and has alleged that the gunmen were police. Lado Sikaka, the most senior leader of the Dongria Kondh indigenous community, is still being held by the gunmen.
Orissa provincial police have remained silent on who was responsible for the abduction, and have not opened any investigation despite requests by activists.
“This allegation of arbitrary detention and abduction of activists must be immediately and transparently investigated,” said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International’s Deputy-Director for the Asia-Pacific. “The Orissa police must show its good faith by securing the release of Lado Sikaka, immediately tracking down and arresting these gunmen.”
Sana Sikaka told local media today that he and a group of activists were stopped by 15 armed plainclothes officers at the foothills of Niyamgiri mountain, as they were leaving in a van to travel to Delhi, where they planned to campaign against the bauxite mine project. The gunmen confiscated the mobile phones of activists and their vehicle. They then detained Lado and Sana Sikaka, driving them towards the neighbouring district of Rayagada where Sana suspects Lado is being held.
The Dongria Kondh indigenous community is known for their activism to protect their sacred mountain Niyamgiri from the proposed bauxite-mine .
Amnesty International urges the Indian authorities to establish a process to seek the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of the Dongria Kondh before proceeding with the proposed mine project in Niyamgiri. This must include:
•? providing the Dongria Kondh with accessible and adequate information about the project;
•? undertaking, in genuine and open consultation with the Dongria Kondh, a comprehensive human rights and environmental impact assessment of the project and providing appropriate procedural safeguards to ensure their participation in the assessment process and that their knowledge and perspectives of the Hills are given due weight and respect and;
•? respect the decision of the Dongria Kondh if they do not provide consent to the project.
India: Court Strikes Down ‘Sodomy’ Law
(New York) – The ruling today by the Delhi High Court that Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) can no longer be used to treat consensual homosexual conduct between adults as a criminal offense is a victory for basic rights to privacy, non-discrimination, and liberty, Human Rights Watch said today.
India’s ruling against ’sodomy’ laws is first step to equality
The historic decision by the high court in Delhi on Thursday to decriminalize homosexuality, has been welcomed by Amnesty International.
“The decision is a significant step toward ensuring that people in India can express their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear or discrimination,” said Madhu Malhotra, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Asia Pacific programme. “This British colonial legacy has done untold harm to generations of individuals in India and across the Commonwealth.”
The ruling overturns a 19th century British colonial law which bans engagement in consensual sex with an individual of the same sex as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. The law had been used to stifle the work of organizations working on HIV/AIDS prevention in India. The court rejected the law as discriminatory and “against constitutional morality”.
“Amnesty International urges the Indian government to address abuse and discrimination by police and other officials and take measures to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in access to economic, social and cultural rights, including housing, employment and health services,” said Madhu Malhotra.
The court’s ruling rejected every argument put forward by the government in defence of the law. It found that section 377, the law criminalizing homosexuality, reflected an understanding of sexual orientation that is “at odds with the current scientific and professional understanding”. In particular, the government’s contention that the measure helped stop the spread of HIV/AIDS is “completely unfounded” and “based on incorrect and wrong notions,” the court said.
The court acknowledged that Section 377 has been used to “brutalis[e]” members of the gay community and other men who have sex with men, abuses that have long been documented by local human rights defenders and Amnesty International. The Judges ruled that popular morality or public disapproval of certain acts is not a valid justification for restriction of the fundamental rights set forth in the Indian Constitution.
India has no laws specifically criminalizing child sexual abuse and has used Section 377 to address this gap. The court’s ruling now restricts section 377 to cases of rape and child abuse. Amnesty International urges lawmakers to rewrite the law to deal explicitly with those crimes.
The Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organization which brought the case against Section 377, told Amnesty International: “It’s an incredible day, it’s been a long battle. Today homosexuality has been decriminalized but not legalized. It is a baby step but finally India has entered the 21st century.”
With this decision, India became the latest country to join the global trend towards decriminalization. Amnesty International has called on those countries that continue to criminalize homosexuality to follow India’s example and repeal those laws.