By M Reyaz, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) organised a two days seminar on “Preventing torture: Challenges and strategies at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in the national capital on July 6-7.
Eminent jurists, journalists, activists and researchers from across the country and abroad had gathered for exhaustive discussions on torture by the police force and security agencies. Panelists looked into fundamental rights and legal previsions on torture, media’s role in preventing torture, role of judiciary, issues of illegal detention, criminal investigations, etc. They also delved on the issue of torture in the conflict zone, wherein researchers shared their experiences and study from the North-East and the Naxal affected Bastar.
The welcome address at the seminar was delivered by Tapan Bose, Secretary General of the SAFHR. Eminent journalist and former High Commissioner of India to UK, Kuldeep Nayar was the Chief Guest. According to Nayar emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi was the “breaking point” for systemic torture by the police force. Pointing to the fake encounter of Ishrat Jahan, Nayar said that the colonial legacy in our penal system has not helped the situation, wherein summary executions and custodial deaths have become kind of acceptable norms and often the accused are presumed guilty, without the basic right of fair trial.
Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Tapan Bose at the centre.
Justice AM Ahmedi, former chief justice of India, gave the presidential remarks. Justice Ahmadi remarked that the impunity of security agencies for their actions lead to torture. He pointed out how by accepting police confessions as evidence, TADA had accelerated the process of torture by security forces. Justice Ahmedi urged the civil society and the academia to develop a “culture of human rights” in our country and respect for the basic rights and dignity.
Md Aamir Khan, who was falsely implicated in a number of terror cases and who was finally released last year after acquittals from all cases after spending 14 years in jail, shared his harrowing experiences. He said that his father died of hear attacks and that his mother had a paralysis attack and is still bed ridden. He said that media plays the diabolical role by ‘media trial.’ He, however, added that once he was acquitted a certain section in media was “very positive in bringing to fore what had happened to him.”
Senior journalist Iftikhar Gilani, who too was arrested on fabricated charges shared his experiences. Indian Express journalist Muzamil Jaleel said that “made up” respect for our security forces as also the communal mindset play greater role in stereotypical representation of Muslim youth vis a vis terrorism.
Lateef Mohammad Khan of Hyderabad based Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee of India spoke on the “illegal detention and torture” based on his fact finding reports in the serial blasts in Hyderabad, in which a number of Muslim youths were falsely implicated. Manisha Sethi of the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association on the “criminal investigation and torture.”
Md Aamir Khan, Muzamil Jaleel and Iftikhar Gilani.
Bela Bhatia, an independent researcher and honorary professor at TISS shared “evidence of torutre from the war zone of Bastar”, while Anjuman Ara Begum presented a ground report from the North-East.
Besides, Advocate Ashok Agarwal spoke on fundamental rights, jurisprudence and legal provisions on torture, while keys to addressal of “endemic torture” was presented by the Executive Director of South Asia Human Rights Documentation centre, while Justice R Basant, former judge of the Kerala High Court pondered on the role of the judiciary.
Participants took part in a lively discussion and tried to form some kind of strategies towards meeting the challenges. Panelists agreed that the police have little scientific and up to date expertise or training in investigation and accepted the dire need of police reforms.