From: amnesty@amnesty.oil.ca
Date: Mon, 26 Jun 2000 10:18:26 -0400
Message-Id: <200006261418.KAA11064@amnesty.oil.ca>
To: amnesty-L@oil.ca
Subject: INDIA: Proposed anti-terrorist legislation risks human rights violations
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* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
AI Index ASA 20/026/2000
News Service Nr. 122
26 June 2000

India

Proposed anti-terrorist legislation risks human rights violations

Indian government and parliamentary representatives must ensure that if
new anti-terrorist legislation is to be passed, it does not repeat the
mistakes of previous legislation and provides safeguards for human
rights, Amnesty International said today in a new report.

Currently under consideration by the Government of India, the Prevention
of Terrorism Bill bears many similarities to the former Terrorist and
Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). Amnesty International is
concerned that it does not provide sufficient safeguards to prevent
human rights violations. It is not compatible with international
treaties to which India is a party.

"There are human consequences to this proposed legislation which cannot
and must not be ignored. There are individuals whose lives have been
irrevocably damaged by provisions of TADA and whose experiences could be
repeated if identical provisions are re-enacted," Amnesty International
warned.

One young man who was detained under TADA in April 1993 after bomb
blasts in Mumbai, was hung upside down, given electric shocks in his
genitals, fingers, tongue and nose, and forced to eat human faeces.

Kashmir Singh of Punjab was told eight years after the "disappearance"
of his son Harjit Singh that the TADA charges identifying his son as a
"terrorist" were cooked up in order to justify a "stage-managed
encounter" in which he was killed.

Seva, along with several other women and men from Chamraj Nagar district
of Karnataka, was detained, tortured, sexually abused and charged under
TADA in 1993 in connection with smuggling activities and has been
awaiting trial for seven years without the chance of bail.

"We are aware of widespread public concern about violence perpetrated by
armed groups and that there is a desire to address this violence. But
enacting legislation which in turn violates the fundamental rights of
individuals as a short cut to tackling terrorism is not the answer," the
organization said.

If passed, the proposed Bill will give enhanced powers to a police force
which is widely acknowledged to resort to torture during investigations.
It will also withdraw the right to presumption of innocence in a
situation where fabrication of evidence is widespread. Furthermore, in a
country where many people await trial for longer than their ultimate
sentence, the Bill will also deny bail prior to trial unless the court
is convinced of the innocence of a detainee.

Amnesty International acknowledges that in proposing the draft Bill, the
Law Commission of India has omitted certain provisions which existed in
TADA which were violative of international standards and included some
provisions aimed at preventing abuse of powers granted in the
legislation. However, the organization urges that such safeguards be
more than just paper thin promises.

ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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