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 Human
Rights Defender Assaulted for Pursuing a Case in North East India
The Milli Gazette
5 June 2009
Appeal for Urgent Action by Barak Human Rights Protection Committee
PRESS RELEASE
BARAK
HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION COMMITTEE (BHRPC),
a human rights organisation working in Assam, India, requests your urgent
actions in the following situation in North East India.
BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF THE SITUATION:
BHRPC
has
received information from reliable sources that Ms. Hasina Kharbhih, a
human rights defender working against human trafficking in North East
India was assaulted and threatened on May 28th 2009. BHRPC has
been informed that Kharbhih, while on her way to the court for the hearing
of a case, was stopped, threatened and manhandled by Ms. Bethswa Dympep,
the accused in threatening case. Kharbhih was injured in the incident and
had to be taken to the local
hospital for treatment. It is also reported that the perpetrators are
receiving clandestine support from the police.
According
to the victim and other local human rights defenders, Hasina Kharbhih is a
human rights defender leading the Impulse NGO Network <http://www.impulseasia.org/>,
a local human rights organisation based in Shillong, Meghalaya.
According to the same sources, on May 28, Kharbhih and her colleague
were on their way to the District Council Court to accompany her Lawyer
to show cause her case concerning a case involving threats to Kharbhih.
Since there was a traffic block, Kharbhih had to get out from their
vehicle and walk towards the court. Not far from the court compound, the
accused in the case, Ms. Bethswa Dympep along with a male, stopped her
and started threatening her and her colleague,claiming that if they
continued with the case, Kharbhih would face terrible consequences,
including the closure of the Impulse NGO Network. When Kharbhih replied
that such matters were for the court to decide, Dympep assaulted her.
Dympep was accompanied by her mother who also shouted abuse.
The victim immediately went to the Lumbiengri Police Station to report
the matter. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered and since
she was injured, the police asked Kharbhih to seek medical treatment,
which she did. Three police officers searched the court
compound for Dympep, but finding she was inside the court, did not
arrest her. The officers later told Kharbhih and her lawyer that Dympep
had escaped from their view.
Later Kharbhih was contacted by a press personnel in Shillong telling
her that Dympep has called a press conference at the Shillong Press
Club. In the press meeting Dympep reportedly accused Kharbhih of
assaulting her, while claiming that she is being backed by a business
group in the country and that she will ensure the closure of the Impulse
NGO Network soon.
The BHRPC and several other civil society organisations inside and
outside of India are worried for Kharbhih, and have been calling on the
state administration of Meghalaya, particularly the state police, to
ensure her protection--and that of others involved in the case.
From the start of the case Kharbhih and her colleagues have been
receiving life threatening telephone calls, demanding their legal
withdrawal and that they stop investigating all cases involving Dympep.
In the Press conference, Dympep had declared that she is the personnel
stewardress at the bungalow of the Private airline company in India
chaired by Mr. Vijay Mallya. While the factual basis of claims by Dympep
are yet to be verified, it is a known fact that Kharbhih continues to
receive threats, and that the local police have thus far refused to take
any appropriate action against the assailant. A few days before the
assault, Kharbhih’s website was hacked into and the contents destroyed.
Dympep's act of assaulting and threatening Kharbhih and her colleague is
also a direct violation of her bail conditions. The BHRPC wonders why
the District Council Court has not simply recalled Dympep's bail order
and had her taken into judicial custody. In spite of repeated requests
the local police have also refused to take any affirmative
action on Kharbhih s behalf.
ACTIONS
REQUESTED:
Please
write to the authorities in India urging them
To take
all necessary actions to guarantee the physical safety and mental
integrity of Kharbih, her colleagues and their family members,
and to
conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigations into the
accusations against Dympep and charge her and her accomplices accordingly.
Or
you
may forward the following letter adjusting the salutation part to the
addresses given bellow:
To
******************************,
******************************,
******************************
Subject:
Urgent Appeal Regarding Threat to Life to Human Rights Defender in
Meghalaya.
Dear
Sir/Madam,
I am
writing to express my concern about the threat to the life and security of
Ms. Hasina Kharbhih, a noted human rights defender working against human
trafficking. I am informed that Kharbhih has been contesting a criminal
case against Ms. Bethswa Dympep at the
local courts in Shillong and that since the beginning of the case Dympep
has been threatening Kharbhih and her colleagues with personal harm and
the closure of her office, demanding the withdrawal of the case from the
court. However the police have not taken any action
upon the complaint and have allowed Dympep to continue with her threats in
private, and in the public eye.
I am informed that on May 28 in particular, Kharbhih was verbally abused
and assaulted by Dympep in front of the local court, and has filed a
complaint at the Lumbiengri Police Station. The police failed to arrest
Dympep on the excuse that they could not locate her, yet I
am informed that after the incident the assailant had convened a press
conference at the local press club, a public event which the local police
were aware of.
The lack of police action suggests that Dympep is using her influence to
prevent the due process of law from taking its own course. In these
circumstances, I request that you immediately take swift assertive action
to ensure that Kharbhih remains safe throughout this trial and after, and
that an investigation is ordered into the entire incident.
I also request that if required, Dympep be taken into custody on the basis
of the complaint filed by Kharbhih against her at Lumbiengri Police
Station. Human rights defenders carry out a valuable and necessary
service, often at the expense of their lives. Any
government should give their safety utmost priority.
Yours sincerely,
Your
Signature
Your
Address
Addresses to be sent to:
1. Governor of Meghalaya
Government of Meghalaya
Main Secretariat Building
Shillong 793001, Meghalaya
INDIA
E-mail:
hector.marwein@nic.in
(for Secretary to Governor)
2. Chief Secretary
Government of Meghalaya
Main Secretariat Building
Shillong 793001, Meghalaya
INDIA
Fax: +91 364 2225978
E-mail:
ranjanchatterjee@hotmail.com
3. Home Minister
Ministry of Home Affairs
Government of India, North Block
Central Secretariat, New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA
Fax: +91 11 23093289
4. Chief Executive Officer
National Human Rights Commission
Faridkot House,Copernicus Marg,
New Delhi-110001
INDIA
E-mail:
sgnhrc@nic.in
5. Director General of Police
Shillong, Meghalaya
INDIA
Fax: + 91 364 2220839
6. Minister, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Sardar Patel Bhawan
Sansad Marg, New Delhi - 110 001
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 23742133
E-mail:
ddpg2-arpg@nic.in
7. Chairperson
National Commission for Scheduled Caste
5th Floor, Lok Nayak Bhavan
Khan Market, New Delhi 110003
INDIA
Fax: + 91 11 24625378
E-mail:
jointsecretary-ncsc@nic.in
Recd from:
W A Laskar
Freelance Reporter and Human Rights Activist
with Barak Human Rights Protection Committee,
http://bhrpc.net.googlepages.com
15, Panjabari Road, Darandha, Six Mile,
Guwahati-781037, Assam, India
Cell: +919401134314
wali.laskar@gmail.com
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