Although India denies it, Amnesty International says it's undeniable. In its 1996 Report, the internationally respected human rights organisation charges India for the thousands of political prisoners that have been detained without charge or trial. The Amnesty report says that torture of detainees was endemic throughout the country. At least 100 people died in police and military custody, mostly as a result of torture. Dozens of political detainees mysteriously "disappeared." Hundreds of people were extra-judicially executed by members of the security forces.

In Jammu and Kashmir alone, thousands of suspected political activists were detained without charge or trial under the Public Security Act. Most were young men taken into custody by the security forces on suspicion of supporting the campaign for secession. A government report to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) stated that 3,007 people were in detention in Jammu and Kashmir in November 1994. Local civil liberties groups estimated the figure at 20,000.

Sheikh Mohammad Ashraf, a lawyer and President of the Baramulla branch of the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association, who has documented human rights violations in the state, was arrested by soldiers in June 1994. At first, the army denied holding him, but on July 2nd, his family was allowed to see him for a few minutes. He was reportedly released in September.

As a result of torture while in custody, Nazir Ahmed Sheikh had to have both his feet amputated because they had developed gangrene. The government denied the allegations of torture without carrying out an independent investigation. Rape of women by members of the security forces was also widely reported.

People documenting human rights abuses were attacked by the security forces and by armed opposition groups. In many cases responsibility for attack was difficult to determine. Journalists who dared to demonstrate against state violence directed at the civilian population were severely beaten by members of the security forces in March; many were hospitalised as a result.

In April, Mian Abdul Qayoom, President of the Jammu and Kashmir Bar Association, and Parvez Imroz, Secretary of Srinagar branch of the People's Union for Civil Liberties, were shot and injured by unidentified gunman. In September, a photographer was fatally injured when a bomb exploded in his office. An armed opposition group was reportedly implicated in this attack.

At least 100 people died in police and military custody, many as a result of torture. The bodies of Hilal Ahmad Nafti and two other residents of Hutmara village, Anantnag, were found cut into pieces. They had been arrested in mid-June. A fourth man arrested at the same time, Farooq Ahmad, reportedly witnessed the killing of all three villagers before he escaped from police custody. Although an investigation was ordered, villagers reported that they were not called to testify and had been harassed by soldiers searching for Farooq Ahmad.

Convictions of those responsible for deaths in custody are extremely rare. The government stated that 34 army personnel and 245 Border Security Force (BSF) personnel had been punished for "excesses" and "wrongdoings" in Jammu and Kashmir between 1990 and 1994, but failed to provide Amnesty International with details of the incidents to which these punishments related.

The army and paramilitary forces were reportedly responsible for scores of "disappearances." For example, Ghulam Nabi Dar, an employee of the irrigation department, was reported to have been arrested by soldiers in July 1994 in Kulgam, Anantnag district. The army subsequently denied arresting him. His body was found near a road in May 1995.

Hundreds of people were reported to have been extrajudicially executed by the security forces.

Extrajudicial executions continued throughout the year. On February 10th, five shopkeepers were reportedly dragged from their shops and shot dead while pleading for their lives. Members of the BSF reportedly raided the area of Gada Kocha, Srinagar, in retaliation for an earlier attack on the BSF by an armed opposition group. Local people reported that they were beaten by the BSF members when they tried to approach the victims of the shooting: one of the injured died two hours later. A magisterial investigation was ordered.

Amnesty International called on the Indian government to ensure that all political prisoners were tried promptly and fairly; to investigate all allegations of torture and deaths in custody and to bring to justice those responsible; to implement safeguards against torture; and to commute death sentences and abolish the death penalty.

Amnesty International appealed to armed opposition groups to stop human rights abuses and publicly urged them to release all hostages held in Jammu and Kashmir.

1995 Reports

In January 1995, Amnesty International published a report, India: Torture and deaths in custody in Jammu and Kashmir, which contained details of over 700 deaths in custody since 1990. The government's response indicated that it was reluctant to implement eight key recommendations made by Amnesty International and dismissed most of the torture allegations. In March 1995, Amnesty published an analysis of the government's response and in November of the same year it published India: Torture continues in Jammu and Kashmir.

India's response

The response of the Government of India to Amnesty's charges is evasive and misleading. The government refuses to recognise that there is an urgent need to take decisive action to put an end to the appalling human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. The information provided by the Government of India on specific cases lacks any substantial evidence to support its dismissal of many of the grave allegations of torture leading, in hundreds of cases, to death. The Amnesty report describes specific cases and offers incredible details.

Amnesty agrees entirely with the government that "generalisations cannot be a substitute for facts." But this is precisely what the government [of India] has done to shirk its responsibilities by establishing the truth about the serious allegations of human rights violations in the state. The government refused to order a credible and impartial investigation which could be a prerequisite for effective action to stop them and provide relief to the victims. The government shows no willingness to order prompt, independent and impartial investigations into allegations of torture and deaths in custody, to establish an independent Commission to protect detainees or to ensure that those found responsible for them are promptly brought to justice as Amnesty International had recommended.

The government also continues to refuse to invite the two UN Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and torture to visit the state. Further to that, India consistently denies international human rights organisations, like Amnesty International, access to the state. Nor is there any recognition by India of the need to drastically overhaul Indian laws and practices in the state. New Delhi must do this in order to abide by its international obligations to enforce and protect human rights, even in a difficult situation like that prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir.