TheInternational Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)requestsyour URGENT interventionin the following situation in India/ Manipur.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariatof OMCT has been informed by the Centre for Organisation Research &Education (CORE), a member of the OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the allegedtorture and ill-treatment to which Mr. SanjenbamRobertker, a 29-year-old man from Imphal West District in Manipur, wassubjected during his detention by members of the Manipur Police Commandossupervised by sub-inspector Tarun Kumar, in the city of Lamphel, in the stateof Manipur.

According to the informationreceived, on 18 September 2011 at about 1:30 pm, Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker was waiting for hisgirlfriend who was taking the B. Sc. Nursing examination at the RegionalInstitute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Lamphel when he was asked by two membersof the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) what he was doing at this place. After heexplained the reason, the two left and a few minutes later a team of theManipur Police Commandos arrived in a bullet proof vehicle (Rakshak jeep) andMr. Sanjenbam Robertker was forced by the police officers into the policecommando vehicle without any warrant of arrest or giving any reason. He wasblindfolded and his hands were tied behind his back, then the police officersdrove him to an unknown place, where he was beaten up in order to extract aconfession, first forcing him to admit the abuse of narcotic substances andthen after some time to admit sympathizing with the People’s Liberation Army(PLA), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and the KangleipakCommunist Party (KCP) (armed opposition groups operating in the North-easternregion of India and based in Manipur). Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker was asked toconfess several times by different persons and eventually he was given anultimatum of one hour to confess any of these charges. Later, Mr. SanjenbamRobertker was taken to the RIMS in order to get medication and, in the eveningof the same day, he was handed over to the Lamphel police station.

According to the sameinformation received, the family members of Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker, concernedabout his whereabouts in the evening, were not able to reach him since hismobile phone was turned off. On 19 September 2011, one of hissisters tried to call him again when an unidentified person answered the phoneand told her that Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker was at the Lamphel police station.Some family members went to the police station but they were not allowed tomeet him. They were informed that he will be brought before the DistrictJudge`s Court, Cheirap Court Complex, Uripok, Imphal at 01:00 pm on the sameday. His family members were therefore waiting at the court complex with alawyer when the police came with Mr. Sanjenbam Robertkar at 04:00 pm. Since hewas not able to move, sit or walk the family organised a chair from the courtand carried him into the courtroom. He was released on bail by the District andSession Judge of Imphal West, Mr. Ibomcha, reportedly because of his extremelypoor physical condition and the next hearing was fixed for the 3 October 2011.

Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker wasreportedly so severely beaten that he was not able to ingest solid food andtherefore had to be fed through the nose. His left ankle was swollen, hisbuttocks were covered with bruises, his head was hurt on the left back side andhe suffered from headache. He was unable to sit or talk, he suffered fromdental pain and immobility of his right hand. According to the same informationMr. Sanjenbam Robertker is treated at the Shija Hospitals and ResearchInstitute Pvt. Ltd, Lamgol, Imphal.

To date, no effectiveinvestigation has been reportedly carried out into the aforementioned event.

The International Secretariat of OMCT isgravely concerned about the safety of Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker and urges the competentauthorities to guarantee his physical andpsychological integrity at all times. OMCT recalls that theauthorities have to fulfil their obligations under international human rightslaw to protect the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhumanor degrading treatment or punishment and to bringing to justice thoseresponsible for violating this right.

Accordingly,OMCT calls upon the competent authorities to undertake a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartialinvestigation into the aforementioned allegations, in order to identify allthose responsible, bring them to trial and apply adequate sanctions. Finally,OMCT recalls that the victims of torture and ill-treatment must be ensured theright to an effective remedy for the human rights violations suffered as wellas the right to full redress, including compensation and rehabilitation.

Actions Requested

Please write to theauthorities in India urging them to:

i. Guarantee,in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. SanjenbamRobertker;

ii. Carryout a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation intothe aforementioned events, in particular the allegations of torture andill-treatment, in accordance with international human rights standards, the result ofwhich must be made public, in order to bring those responsible before acompetent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/oradministrative sanctions as provided by law;

iii. Ensure that an effectiveremedy as well as the right to full redress, including compensation andrehabilitation, is granted to Mr. Sanjenbam Robertker;

iv. Guaranteethe respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the countryin accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

Ø Smt. Pratibha Patil, President of India,Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110004, India, Fax + 91 11 233 82365/ + 91 11 23711 772

Ø Shri. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister ofIndia, Prime Minister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi 110011,INDIA, Fax: + 91 11 23019545 / + 91 11 23016857

Email: manmohan@sansad.nic.in ; pmosb@pmo.nic.in

Ø Dr. P. Chidambaram, Union Minister of HomeAffairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001India. Fax: +91 11 2309 2979. Email: hm@nic.in ; pchidambi@yahoo.co.in

Ø Justice Kapadia, Chief Justice of India andRK. Raghavan, Chairman of the Special Investigation Team, Supreme Court, TilakMarg, New Delhi 110 001,India. Fax:+ 91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in

Ø Chairperson of the National Human RightsCommission of India, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001, India.Fax: + 91 11 2334 0016, Email: covdnhrc@nic.in ; ionhrc@nic.in ;chairnhrc@nic.in

Ø Mr. Okram Ibobi Singh, Chief Minister ofManipur, Chief Minister’s Secretariat, Babupara, Imphal, 795001, Manipur,India, Fax: + 91 385 222 1817, + 91 385 222 1817, Email: cmmani@hub.nic.in ; cmmani@man.nic.in

Ø His Excellency Shri. Gurbachan Jagat,Governor of Manipur, Raj Bhavan Imphal 795001, Manipur INDIA, govmani@hub.nic.in Fax: + 91 385 2450278

Ø PermanentMission of India to the United Nations (Geneva),Ruedu Valais 9, 1202 Geneva,

Tel: +41 22 906 8686 Fax: + 41 22 906 8696, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int

Please also write to the embassies of India in your respective country.

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Geneva, 3 October 2011

Kindly inform us of anyaction undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.