UN Special Rapporteurs Call For Investigation Into Torture, Deaths Of Kashmiris

UN special rapporteurs call for investigation into torture, deaths of Kashmiris

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jul, 2020 ) :Four United Nations special rapporteurs have asked the Indian government to investigate allegations of torture and custodial killing of several Muslim men in Kashmir since January 2019.

A report was sent to the Indian government on May 4 on "the continuing deterioration of human rights conditions" in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, documenting several cases of "arbitrary detentions, violations of the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment and of the rights of persons belonging to minorities.

"We remain deeply concerned about the ongoing human rights violations," said the report shared on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCR) this week.

The UN special rapporteurs called on New Delhi "to conduct a promo and impartial investigation into all allegations of arbitrary killings, torture and ill-treatment and to prosecute suspected perpetrators." "We express our deep concern at the alleged excessive use of force, torture and other forms of ill-treatment reportedly committed during the arrest and detention and the death in custody of persons,"said the rapporteurs.

Citing over dozen cases of torture in detention, the report concludes: "They appear to be targeted based on ethnicity and/or religious identity.

"It said that "arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment" resulted in the deaths of victims in "at least 4 cases".

Among these cases is Rizwan Pandit, a 29-year-old teacher who died in police custody on March 19 last year.The report, citing Pandit's preliminary autopsy report, said he died of bleeding from multiple injuries. "He is said to have traces of torture on his body, but the autopsy report was never made public," it added.

The UN officials said New Delhi did not respond to the report within the stipulated 60-day period which ended this month.They also expressed regret that they had received "no response" to two previous communications sent to the Indian government on August 16, 2019 and February 27 of this year.

The four United Nations special rapporteurs - on torture, extrajudicial killings, minority issues and freedom of religion - asked the Indian government to provide further details on these alleged cases of torture and extrajudicial killings, as well as the fate of any subsequent investigation.

They also asked for details of the measures taken to respond to the allegations and for information on laws aimed at protecting religious minorities.

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