Judicial harassment against Messrs. Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and Manjit Mahanta

India

January 15, 2019

The Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in thefollowing situation in India.

Briefdescription of the information:

The Observatory has been informed byreliable sources about the judicial harassment against Messrs. Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and Manjit Mahanta,in relation to their participation in a peaceful protest against the Citizenship(Amendment) Bill in Guwahati, Assam State, to oppose the discriminatorycharacter of the proposed legislation.

According to the information received, on January 9, 2019, Latasil police registereda case against Messrs. Hiren Gohain, one ofAssam's most prominent scholar and intellectual, Akhil Gogoi, President of the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti(KMSS)[1], and Manjit Mahanta, Convenor of theForum against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill, under Sections 120(B)(“punishment of criminal conspiracy”), 121 (“wagingor attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government”),123 (“concealing with intent to facilitatedesign to wage war”), and 124(A) (“sedition”) of the Indian Penal Code.

On January 11, 2019, the Gauhati High Court granted bail to Mr.Manjit Mahanta and interim bail to Messrs.Hiren Gohain and Akhil Gogoi against a surety ofRs. 5,000 each (around 61,5 Euros), and fixed January 22, 2019 as the next dateof hearing of the case.

The case was filed after Messrs. Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and ManjitMahanta attended a public rally organized by the Forum against Citizenship ActAmendment Bill in Latasil, Guwahati, on January 7, 2019, during which theyexpressed their views against the religion-basedCitizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and strongly opposed the passing ofthis piece of legislation[2]. Despite their opposition to the Bill, the threehuman rights defenders have publicly stated that they are not againstthe Constitution of India, and are solely asking for equal constitutionalprotection for the people of Assam State.

TheObservatory recalls also that in 2017 Mr. Akhil Gogoi had already been charged with sedition for expressing his criticismsagainst the policies of the Government of Assam State as well as theCitizenship (Amendment) Bill[3].

The Observatory condemns the judicialharassment of Messrs. HirenGohain, Akhil Gogoi and Manjit Mahanta, which seem aimed at hindering their peaceful andlegitimate human rights activities, and urgesIndian authorities to put an end to all acts of harassment against them,including at the judicial level.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in India,urging them to:

i. Guarantee, in all circumstances, thephysical integrity and psychological well-being of Messrs. Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and ManjitMahanta and of all human rightsdefenders in India;

ii. Put an end to all acts of harassment -including at the judicial level - against Messrs. Hiren Gohain, Akhil Gogoi and ManjitMahanta and all human rightsdefenders in India, and ensure that they are able to carry out their legitimateactivities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals in all circumstances;

iii. Conform to the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of theUnited Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular with Articles 1 and 12.2;

iv. Ensure in all circumstances respectfor human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with internationalhuman rights standards and international instruments ratified by India.

Addresses:

· Mr. ShriNarendra Damodardas Modi, Prime Minister of India, Fax: + 91 11 2301 6857.E-mail: pmosb@pmo.nic.in / manmo@sansad.in

· Mr. RajNath Singh, Union Minister of Home Affairs of India, Fax: +91 11 2309 2979.Email: dirfcra-mha@gov.in

· Mr. Rajiv Gauba, Secretary, Ministry ofHome Affairs of India, Email: hshso@nic.in

· Justice DipakMisra,Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court, of India, Fax: +91 11 233 83792, Email: supremecourt@nic.in

· Justice Shri H.L. Dattu,Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India, Fax +91 11 24651329. Email: chairnhrc@nic.in

· Mr. Khaleel Ahmad, Focal Point on HumanRights Defenders, National Human Rights Commission of India, Email: hrd-nhrc@nic.in

· H.E. Mr. Rajiv Kumar Chander, Ambassador,Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Fax:+41 22 906 86 96, Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int

· H.E. Mr.Manjeev Singh Puri, Embassy of India to the European Union, Belgium andLuxembourg in Brussels, Belgium, Fax: +32 2 6489638 / +32 2 6451869

Please alsowrite to the diplomatic mission or embassy of India located in your country.

***

Geneva-Paris, January15, 2019

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

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. Theobjective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations of repressionagainst human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, theEuropean Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by internationalcivil society.

[1] Founded byMr. Akhil Gogoi in 2005, KMSS worksnotably in favour of land rights and since 2009 has also been leading a statewide movement against construction of big damsin the ecologically sensitive regions of Assam State and Arunachal PradeshState.

[2] Amidst and ahead of thepassing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill at the Lok Sabha (the Lower House ofIndia’s Parliament) on January 8, 2019, there was widespread protest throughoutthe North Eastern states of India against the said Bill, which seeks to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs,Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistanwho had entered the State by December 31, 2014 and if they have lived in Indiafor six years. Not only does it violate Article 14 of the Constitution thatguarantees right to equality, but it also contradicts the citizenship cut-offdate of March 24, 1971 that was decided in the Assam Accord. This also implies that illegalmigrants who are Muslims or atheists will not be eligible for a citizenship.People in Assam areagainst this differential treatment to illegal migrants on the basis of theirreligion. The Assamese also fear that the Bill will make them a minority intheir own homeland.

[3] SeeObservatory Urgent Appeal IND 005 / 0917 / OBS 106, published on September 29,2017.