Inde: arrestation arbitraire et mauvais traitement du défenseur des droits humains M. Devi Singh Rawat

Your Excellency,

Human rights lawyer Devi Singh Rawat was arbitrarily arrested on 31 January 2010 and subsequently ill-treated whilst in detention. Devi Singh Rawat works actively on torture cases in India. He was involved in the National Project on Prevention of Torture (NPPT) in India between 2006 and 2008. In January 2010, on the request of the State Law Officer of the NPPT, Devi Singh Rawat filed a case against officials from the Adarsh Nagar Police Station in the Ajmer District of Rajasthan for the torture of two individuals. Although the police officials tried on 30 January 2010 to persuade him to withdraw the case, Devi Singh Rawat refused to do so.

On 31 January 2010, Devi Singh Rawat was arrested for his alleged involvement in an incident that occurred at approximately 11am that day, in which a fight broke out between members of the public and police officials during Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) elections in Palra Village. Several villagers were arrested. Despite the fact that Devi Singh Rawat was not present at the time of the incident, he has been charged with “voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty” and “assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty”. First Information Report (FIR) 19/2010 was filed in Adarsh Nagar Police Station. If he is found guilty of these charges he could face up to three years in prison and a fine. Devi Singh Rawat was released on bail on 2 February 2010.

While in detention, Devi Singh Rawat was forced to take his clothes off and was photographed. The pictures were later made available to, and published in, the press.

I believe that the arrest and ill-treatment of Devi Singh Rawat are directly related to his human rights activities, in particular his involvement in the torture case against police officials.

I call on you to urge the authorities in India to:

1. Immediately drop all charges against Devi Singh Rawat, as I believe that they relate solely to his legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;

2. Carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the arrest, detention and ill-treatment of Devi Singh;

3. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological security and integrity of Devi Singh;

4. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in India are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.

Yours sincerely,