Arbitrary detention and harassment of Mr. Durbadal Majumder, Jalpaiguri District human rights monitor for MASUM
IND 002 /0815 / OBS 066
Arbitraryarrest / Arbitrary detention
Harassment
India
August 14,2015
TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federationfor Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in India.
Descriptionof the situation:
TheObservatory has been informed by reliable sources about the ,arbitrary detentionand harassment of Mr. Durbadal Majumder, Jalpaiguri District human rights monitor for Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a memberorganisation of OMCT. Mr. Majumder has been involved in campaigns against theuse of torture by the police and Border Security Forces in the area. He wasrecently doing fact finding over the alleged domestic violence amounting totorture suffered by Ms. Namita Barman by her husband, Mr Prithiraj Barman, apolice officer in the district.
According tothe information received, on August 2, 2015, Mr. Majumder visited theBhaktinagar Police Station with a Sub Divisional Officer Court’s order to collectMs. Barman's belongings. The police officers told him that they would call Ms.Barman to arrange the delivery of her belongings, and she received a call onAugust 5 telling her that she could collect her belongings at Laketown thefollowing day.
On August 6,2015 at around 2.30 p.m., Mr. Majumder accompanied Ms. Barman to the agreedarea. After retrieving the belongings, they were riding in a minivan back homewhen the driver informed them that the vehicle had been seized by the policeand was forced to go New Jalpaiguri outpost for further enquiry. When theyarrived at the outpost, Mr. Prithiraj Barman, Ms. Namita Barman’s husband, arrived wearing in a police officer's vestand asked for Mr. Majumder’s identification and about his human rightsactivities and his organisation. Mr. Barman verbally harassed and abused Mr.Majumder, accusing him of being in an illicit relationship with his estrangedwife. The police officers who were at the scene did not intervene.
Mr. Majumderwas then arbitrarily detained inpolice custody[1] overnight without accessto food until the next day at 10.30 a.m., when he was forced by a policeofficer to sign a document paper without being allowed to read it. He was theninformed that Mr. Barman had filed a complaint against him for alleged threatsto a police officer, and that consequently a criminal case had been openedagainst him.
TheObservatory recalls that this is not the first episode of harassment againstmembers of the organisation MASUM[2]and calls on the authorities to stop any form of harassment against theassociation.
TheObservatory condemns the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Majumder, as well as thecharges against him, which seem to be aimed at punishing him for his legitimateand peaceful human rights activities.
Actionsrequested:
Please writeto the authorities of India asking them to:
- Put an end to any form of harassmentagainst Mr. Majumder and drop all charges against him.
- Guarantee in all circumstances the physicaland psychological integrity of Mr. Majumder, as well as of all humanrights defenders in India;
- Comply with all the provisions of theUnited Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with:
- Article 1, which provides that“everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, topromote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”; and Article12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures toensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individuallyand in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de factoor de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as aconsequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in thepresent Declaration”;
- Ensure in all circumstances respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with internationalhuman rights standards and international instruments ratified by India.
Addresses:
- Mr. Shri Nanredra Damodardas Modi, Prime Minister of India, PrimeMinister’s Office, Room number 152, South Block, New Delhi, India. Fax: + 91 112301 6857. E-mail: pmosb@pmo.nic.in / manmo@sansad.in
- Mr. Raj Nath Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs, Ministry of HomeAffairs, 104-107 North Block, New Delhi 110 001 India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979
- Justice Rajendra Mal Lodha, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, TilakMarg, New Delhi -1, India. Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
- Justice K. G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson of the National Human RightsCommission of India, Manav Adhikar Bhawan Block-C, GPO Complex, INA, New Delhi- 110023, India. Fax +91 11 2465 1329. Email: covdnhrc@nic.in; ionhrc@nic.in
- Mr. A. K. Parashar, Focal Point on Human Rights Defenders, NationalHuman Rights Commission, Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi 110 001,India. Email: hrd-nhrc@nic.in
- Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, Chief Minister of WestBengal, 325, Sarat Chatterjee Rd, Shibpur, Howrah, West Bengal711102, Telephone: +91 33 2214-5555, 2214-3101, Fax: +91 33 2214-3528 E-mail: cm@wb.gov.in
- H.E. Mr. Dilip Sinha, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of India to theUnited Nations (Geneva), Rue du Valais 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland. Fax: +41 22906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int
- Embassy of India in Brussels, 217 Chaussée de Vleurgat, 1050 Brussels,Belgium, Fax: +32 2 6489638 / +32 2 6451869
Please also write to the diplomatic missionor embassy of India in your respective country.
***
Geneva-Paris,August 14, 2015
Kindlyinform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in yourreply.
TheObservatory, an OMCT and FIDH venture, is dedicated to the protection of humanrights defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contactthe Observatory, call the emergency line:
· E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
· Tel and fax OMCT + 41 22 809 49 39 /+ 41 22 809 49 29
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 1 43 55 25 18/ +33 1 43 55 18 80
[1] The detention was not sustained byany evidence of a crime committed, no explanation was given to the accused, andno official arrest warrant was issued against him.
[2] See the Observatory’s Urgent Appeals IND 001 / 0514 / OBS 041 of May 15, 2014, IND 002 / 0714 /OBS 067 of July 30, 2014, IND 004 /1114 / OBS 091 of November 26, 2014 andIND 004 / 1114 / OBS 091.1 of December 24, 2014.