Implement juvenile justice laws in Kashmir: HRW
Calls to respect UN Principles on protests
India: Implement Juvenile Justice Laws in Kashmir
Respect UN Principles on Use of Force During Protests
July 21, 2010
Violent protesters and the people inciting them are breaking the law and should be punished. But the Jammu and Kashmir government needs to comply with Indian and international law for detention and prosecution, and give special attention to the requirements for children.
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director
(New York) - The Jammu and Kashmir state government should carry out a high court order to ensure due process rights and protections for children detained for allegedly participating in violent street protests, Human Rights Watch said today. Hundreds of these children, locally known as the "stone pelters," are at risk of arbitrary detention and abuse as authorities struggle to identify the often-masked culprits and contain the protests.
At least 17 people, many of them children, have died in street violence during protest marches called by various separatist or political groups in Jammu and Kashmir over the past two months. Teenagers have thrown stones at security forces and destroyed public and private property. To contain the rioters, the police have sometimes used excessive force, causing deaths and injuries with live bullets, rubber bullets, and teargas canisters. Each death leads to a fresh round of demonstrations and further violence. The police have detained hundreds of people, many of them children, for rioting or endangering the life or personal safety of others, offenses that can lead to imprisonment for up to two years.
"Violent protesters and the people inciting them are breaking the law and should be punished," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "But the Jammu and Kashmir government needs to comply with Indian and international law for detention and prosecution, and give special attention to the requirements for children."
In June, 2010, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court directed the government to set up juvenile courts and observation homes after hearing public interest litigation that the authorities illegally detained children in police lockups or jailed them with adults under the Public Safety Act, which allows up to two years of preventive detention. So far the Jammu and Kashmir government has taken no steps to implement those court orders.
India's Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act provides an important framework for protecting and rehabilitating children in conflict, Human Rights Watch said. The act requires authorities to produce anyone who is under age 18 before special juvenile courts, where the bail provisions are more flexible than those for adults. In cases where the court agrees that an accused child must remain in custody, that child has to be kept in a special "observation home," not in prison, and separated from detained adults. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a party, permits the prosecution of children for criminal offenses but requires authorities to arrest or detain a child only as a matter of last resort and for the shortest appropriate time. Every detained child has the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance.
"The authorities believe that greed and misplaced anger motivates these children to commit violence," Ganguly said. "But leaving children vulnerable to abuse in detention, without proper access to justice, will only fuel the unrest."
The protesters as well as the security forces have been responsible for casualties during the protest marches. Protesters have often used threats to enforce strikes, damaging private vehicles and demanding that businesses remain shut. A number of security personnel have been severely injured in the stoning. The state government summoned the Indian army to contain violence in Srinagar city on July 7, 2010, and a curfew was imposed in several parts of the state. After the curfew was lifted, on July 19, a funeral procession for 13-year-old Faizan Ahmad Buhroo, who apparently drowned while fleeing arrest, turned violent. Fayaz Ahmad Khanday, 25, was allegedly killed when police fired live ammunition to contain the protesters.
Indian human rights activists have long called on police and paramilitary forces operating in Jammu and Kashmir to adopt effective but nonlethal crowd control measures. Jammu and Kashmir authorities should abide by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, which provide that all security forces shall, as far as possible, apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. Whenever the lawful use of force and firearms is unavoidable, the authorities must use restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offense. Lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The Basic Principles also call for an effective reporting and review process, especially in cases of death and serious injury.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Amnesty International Kashmir
End Kashmir lawyers' detention: Amnesty
Calls to repeal PSA
Jammu and Kashmir authorities urged to end detention of lawyers
22 July 2010
The Jammu and Kashmir state government must immediately end the preventive detention of the leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Mian Abdul Qayoom, the President of the Bar Association and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, its General Secretary, have been arbitrarily detained under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA) since 7 July and 18 July 2010 respectively.
The vaguely formulated PSA allows for detentions of up to two years without charge or trial on the presumption that future acts harmful to the state may be committed.
"The detention of the Bar Association leaders appears to be an attempt to stifle legitimate and peaceful protest, as part of the ongoing crackdown by the authorities in parts of Kashmir," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International
The grounds of detention prepared by the Srinagar District Magistrate relating to Mian Qayoom allege he is attempting to turn the Bar Association into "a secessionist outfit" indulging in "illegal activities".
Four previous criminal cases registered involving Mian Qayoom between October 2008 and June 2010 are also mentioned in the document which accuses him of instigating recent protests that have reportedly left at least 18 people dead.
"The state administration has resorted to preventive detention under the PSA, which subverts the judicial process," Zarifi said. "If the government has criminal charges to bring, it should do so in a properly constituted criminal trial where Mian Qayoom will have the protections afforded under the law, for instance, the ability to post bail."
The official grounds of detention against Mian Qayoom state that he is being detained for questioning the conduct of government security forces and for his political views.
Reports indicate the General Secretary of the Bar Association, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, is being detained on similar grounds as well as for organizing public rallies seeking the release of Mian Qayoom.
"The arbitrary use of the PSA to detain government critics is yet another demonstration of why this law must be repealed," Zarifi said.
The Kashmir valley has witnessed mass public protests over the past several months, initially over the extrajudicial executions of three men at Machil, Baramulla district, and subsequently by killings of protesters by Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010.
Amnesty International has previously demanded that the Indian authorities avoid excessive use of force and investigate all the deaths due to the shootings.
The State administration has also responded by placing a large number of people in preventive detention instead of charging and trying them – including those reportedly suspected of throwing stones at the police and others suspected of inciting violence by posting inflammatory material online.
A number of political leaders have also been recently detained including Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, and his aides Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ayaz Akbar, Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid and Zafar Akbar Bhat. Prominent Kashmiri leaders including Shabbir Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan also continue to remain in detention under the PSA.
Calls to repeal PSA
Jammu and Kashmir authorities urged to end detention of lawyers
22 July 2010
The Jammu and Kashmir state government must immediately end the preventive detention of the leaders of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Mian Abdul Qayoom, the President of the Bar Association and Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, its General Secretary, have been arbitrarily detained under the J&K Public Safety Act (PSA) since 7 July and 18 July 2010 respectively.
The vaguely formulated PSA allows for detentions of up to two years without charge or trial on the presumption that future acts harmful to the state may be committed.
"The detention of the Bar Association leaders appears to be an attempt to stifle legitimate and peaceful protest, as part of the ongoing crackdown by the authorities in parts of Kashmir," said Sam Zarifi, Asia-Pacific Director at Amnesty International
The grounds of detention prepared by the Srinagar District Magistrate relating to Mian Qayoom allege he is attempting to turn the Bar Association into "a secessionist outfit" indulging in "illegal activities".
Four previous criminal cases registered involving Mian Qayoom between October 2008 and June 2010 are also mentioned in the document which accuses him of instigating recent protests that have reportedly left at least 18 people dead.
"The state administration has resorted to preventive detention under the PSA, which subverts the judicial process," Zarifi said. "If the government has criminal charges to bring, it should do so in a properly constituted criminal trial where Mian Qayoom will have the protections afforded under the law, for instance, the ability to post bail."
The official grounds of detention against Mian Qayoom state that he is being detained for questioning the conduct of government security forces and for his political views.
Reports indicate the General Secretary of the Bar Association, Ghulam Nabi Shaheen, is being detained on similar grounds as well as for organizing public rallies seeking the release of Mian Qayoom.
"The arbitrary use of the PSA to detain government critics is yet another demonstration of why this law must be repealed," Zarifi said.
The Kashmir valley has witnessed mass public protests over the past several months, initially over the extrajudicial executions of three men at Machil, Baramulla district, and subsequently by killings of protesters by Central Reserve Police Force personnel.
At least 18 people, many of them teenagers, were allegedly killed during a crackdown on protests that began on 11 June 2010.
Amnesty International has previously demanded that the Indian authorities avoid excessive use of force and investigate all the deaths due to the shootings.
The State administration has also responded by placing a large number of people in preventive detention instead of charging and trying them – including those reportedly suspected of throwing stones at the police and others suspected of inciting violence by posting inflammatory material online.
A number of political leaders have also been recently detained including Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman Syed Ali Geelani, and his aides Mohammad Ashraf Sahrai, Ayaz Akbar, Mohammad Yousuf Mujahid and Zafar Akbar Bhat. Prominent Kashmiri leaders including Shabbir Shah and Nayeem Ahmed Khan also continue to remain in detention under the PSA.
Kosovo to Kashmir
Kosovo independence legal: UN Court
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 from Serbia was legal under international law, the world court said today in a groundbreaking ruling with implications for separatist movements around the world and for Belgrade's stalled EU membership talks.
The ruling – taken up by the international court of justice after a complaint from Serbia – is likely to lead more countries to recognise Kosovo's independence. The tiny state is backed by 69 countries but needs 100 to join the UN.
Announcing the decision, court president Hisashi Owada said international law contains no "prohibition on declarations of independence. Accordingly [the court] concludes that the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law." Ten of the 14 judges on the panel backed Kosovo, while four voted in Serbia's favour.
The court said the declaration was not in violation of UN resolution 1244, which Belgrade interprets as a guarantee of Serbia's territorial integrity, as the resolution contained no provisions to prevent a unilateral declaration.
Kosovo split from Serbia in 2008 after a bloody war in 1998-99 and nearly a decade of international administration.
Triggered by a brutal crackdown by Serb forces against Kosovan separatists, the war saw about 10,000 ethnic Albanians die before ending with a 78-day Nato bombing campaign. Hundreds of Serbs were killed in retaliatory attacks.
Today Kosovo, itself divided, with a Serb enclave in the north around the town of Mitrovica, said Serbia should now deal with it as a sovereign state. "This is a great day for Kosovo, and my message to the government of Serbia is 'come and talk to us,'" the foreign minister, Skender Hyseni, said outside court.
Serbia said it would lobby hard to prevent a wave of diplomatic recognitions for Kosovo, while pushing for a new UN resolution. President Boris Tadic said his country would never recognise Kosovan independence, a stance supported by Serbia's strongest ally on the issue, Russia, which said the ruling gave no legal basis for secession.
In Belgrade, the ultranationalist Radical party said the court had "gravely violated" international law and demanded the UN security council end the EU peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
Before the judgment, US vice-president Joe Biden reiterated American backing for Kosovo's independence at a meeting with visiting prime minister Hashim Thaci. Biden today called Tadic to affirm Washington's support for a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo. "The ruling strongly asserts that Kosovo's declaration of independence is legal, a judgment we support," said state department spokesman PJ Crowley. "Now it is time for Europe to unite behind a common future."
Key considerations for the court – arising from submissions by UN members and Kosovo's leadership – included issues of sovereignty, the slim volume of precedent in international law, and how former large states such as the Soviet Union broke up along administrative borders.
The court ruled on the narrowest of remits – whether there was anything in law to rule secession illegal. In doing so, it appeared to signal that issues of sovereignty should be considered to be as much about politics as international law.
Serbia has continued to demand Kosovo be returned, arguing that the declaration of independence secession was a "flagrant violation" of its territorial integrity.
The ruling is expected to bolster demands for recognition by territories as diverse as Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria.
The ruling is not expected to have an immediate impact in Mitrovica, where the Serb majority has broken away and deadlock sometimes erupts into violence. The ruling will reinforce Kosovan resistance to any kind of renegotiation, particularly over the status of Serb majority areas in the north.
Hyseni said before the ruling that reopening negotiations was inconceivable.
The ruling is likely to cause schisms in Serbian politics, not least concerning nationalist sentiment over Kosovo, which had been papered over while the court was considering the complaint.
The US and many EU countries support independence; Russia is opposed.
The US welcomed the ruling and urged European nations to unite behind it. Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu called for wider international recognition for his state.
So far, 69 of the UN's 192 member countries have recognised Kosovo as independent - they include the US, UK, neighbouring Albania and Croatia.
Those opposed include Russia, China and Bosnia. EU nations with separatist movements of their own - including Spain and Greece - have also not recognised Kosovo.
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 from Serbia was legal under international law, the world court said today in a groundbreaking ruling with implications for separatist movements around the world and for Belgrade's stalled EU membership talks.
The ruling – taken up by the international court of justice after a complaint from Serbia – is likely to lead more countries to recognise Kosovo's independence. The tiny state is backed by 69 countries but needs 100 to join the UN.
Announcing the decision, court president Hisashi Owada said international law contains no "prohibition on declarations of independence. Accordingly [the court] concludes that the declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 did not violate general international law." Ten of the 14 judges on the panel backed Kosovo, while four voted in Serbia's favour.
The court said the declaration was not in violation of UN resolution 1244, which Belgrade interprets as a guarantee of Serbia's territorial integrity, as the resolution contained no provisions to prevent a unilateral declaration.
Kosovo split from Serbia in 2008 after a bloody war in 1998-99 and nearly a decade of international administration.
Triggered by a brutal crackdown by Serb forces against Kosovan separatists, the war saw about 10,000 ethnic Albanians die before ending with a 78-day Nato bombing campaign. Hundreds of Serbs were killed in retaliatory attacks.
Today Kosovo, itself divided, with a Serb enclave in the north around the town of Mitrovica, said Serbia should now deal with it as a sovereign state. "This is a great day for Kosovo, and my message to the government of Serbia is 'come and talk to us,'" the foreign minister, Skender Hyseni, said outside court.
Serbia said it would lobby hard to prevent a wave of diplomatic recognitions for Kosovo, while pushing for a new UN resolution. President Boris Tadic said his country would never recognise Kosovan independence, a stance supported by Serbia's strongest ally on the issue, Russia, which said the ruling gave no legal basis for secession.
In Belgrade, the ultranationalist Radical party said the court had "gravely violated" international law and demanded the UN security council end the EU peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.
Before the judgment, US vice-president Joe Biden reiterated American backing for Kosovo's independence at a meeting with visiting prime minister Hashim Thaci. Biden today called Tadic to affirm Washington's support for a democratic, multi-ethnic Kosovo. "The ruling strongly asserts that Kosovo's declaration of independence is legal, a judgment we support," said state department spokesman PJ Crowley. "Now it is time for Europe to unite behind a common future."
Key considerations for the court – arising from submissions by UN members and Kosovo's leadership – included issues of sovereignty, the slim volume of precedent in international law, and how former large states such as the Soviet Union broke up along administrative borders.
The court ruled on the narrowest of remits – whether there was anything in law to rule secession illegal. In doing so, it appeared to signal that issues of sovereignty should be considered to be as much about politics as international law.
Serbia has continued to demand Kosovo be returned, arguing that the declaration of independence secession was a "flagrant violation" of its territorial integrity.
The ruling is expected to bolster demands for recognition by territories as diverse as Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria.
The ruling is not expected to have an immediate impact in Mitrovica, where the Serb majority has broken away and deadlock sometimes erupts into violence. The ruling will reinforce Kosovan resistance to any kind of renegotiation, particularly over the status of Serb majority areas in the north.
Hyseni said before the ruling that reopening negotiations was inconceivable.
The ruling is likely to cause schisms in Serbian politics, not least concerning nationalist sentiment over Kosovo, which had been papered over while the court was considering the complaint.
The US and many EU countries support independence; Russia is opposed.
The US welcomed the ruling and urged European nations to unite behind it. Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu called for wider international recognition for his state.
So far, 69 of the UN's 192 member countries have recognised Kosovo as independent - they include the US, UK, neighbouring Albania and Croatia.
Those opposed include Russia, China and Bosnia. EU nations with separatist movements of their own - including Spain and Greece - have also not recognised Kosovo.
Restrictions
Imposition of restrictions continue in occupied Kashmir
Srinagar, July 22 In occupied Kashmir, the authorities continued imposition of restrictions in Srinagar and other towns to foil holding of protest demonstrations, call for which had been given by the forum patronised by Syed Ali Gilani.The forum had asked people to stage sit-ins and come to streets in a peaceful manner to press the release of illegally detained Hurriyet leaders and activists.
On the other hand, educational institutions, banks, post offices, shops and business establishments remained closed and public transport was off the roads.
The All Parties Hurriyet Conference Chairman, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in a statement in
Indian troops in their fresh act of state terrorism, martyred two innocent Kashmiri youth at Rajwar in Handwara. Unidentified gunmen tortured to death a civilian after abducting him from his house at Lidreri in Kishtwar.
An Indian trooper committed suicide by hanging himself in a military camp at Trehgam, raising the number of such deaths amongst Indian troops and police personnel in the occupied territory to 188 since January 2007.
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