The Secretary General
Amnesty International
1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK
Amnesty International
1 Easton Street
London
WC1X 0DW, UK
Respected Sir:
As Gurbaksh Singh steadfastly maintains
his grit and determination despite falling health and as his hunger
strike completes 33 days, the Indian state merely continues to monitor
his health and seems to be waiting in the wings to either let him die or
to whisk him away to force-feed him as they did some days back. The
government of Punjab continues to pay lip service and express sympathy
without waking up from deep slumber. It is a classic case of lethargic
executive insomnia and nonchalance.
The central government in Delhi and the
Punjab government has not addressed the case of the 6 detainees whose
release is sought by Gurbaksh Singh through his hunger strike. Therefore
it is time for Amnesty International to intervene and intervene without
delay.
It is significant to mention that upon
his recent release on bail from prison, Gurbaksh Singh took cudgels on
behalf of those detained in prisons for a long time and wrote to the
administrator of Chandigarh on August 19 seeking release and mentioning
that such long term serving prisoners be released or else he would be
forced to sit on a hunger strike. Subsequently another memorandum was
submitted by various Sikh organizations saying the same, but the
Chandigarh administration who administers the Burail jail chose to
remain silent.
Gurbaksh Singh said that it was the
unconcerned behavior of the governments that forced him to take this
“extreme step in a democratic setup”. Currently, Gurbaksh Singh is
fasting unto death since November 14, 2013 at Gurdwara Amb Sahib,
Mohali, near Chandigarh seeking the release of 6 Sikh prisoners who have
not been released despite serving full term.
In this depressing and disgusting
scenario, through this letter Dal Khalsa is knocking the doors of
Amnesty International urging it to immediately initiate a world-wide
campaign not only for the release of the 6 detainees whose details are
attached to this appeal but also to save the life of human rights
defender Bhai Gurbaksh Singh whose health is deteriorating by the hour.
The cases of Gurmeet Singh, Lakhwinder
Singh and Shamsher Singh fall within the jurisdiction of the Union
Territory administration of Chandigarh, Gurdeep Singh’s case is with the
state government of Karnataka, Lal Singh’s case is with the government
of Gujarat and that of Waryam Singh with the state government of Uttar
Pradesh. Technically speaking, none of the cases are sub-judice and as
such it is only the executive which has to take a final decision in the
matter.
As documented by Amnesty International
and various other international and national human rights bodies, Indian
laws regarding release of indeterminate sentence prisoners are open to
free executive interpretation, prevarication and whims and fancies of
the home ministry of the government of India. It is not the completion
of the sentence but the assessment of some secret arm of the state which
decides release of prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. Even
parole is discriminatory and subjective. High profile prisoners like
Sanjay Dutt may get parole and rightly so but others are invariably less
fortunate as they do not have glamour attached to them, they do not get
services of highly paid lawyers and get less media attention, and
therefore languish in jails without a murmur from any quarter.
The continued detention of 6 prisoners,
whose details are attached to this letter, not only violates the
principle of equality enshrined in the Indian constitution but is also a
clear violation of the UN Declaration of Human Rights. We have reason
to believe that in case of these prisoners, they being Sikh activists
who were fighters for the cause of self-determination of the Sikhs in
the early eighties and nineties of the last century is the chief cause
for their continued incarceration. India follows a policy of hatred and
vendetta against such Sikh prisoners though we are conscious that there
are a large number of such prisoners in many other parts of the country.
Justice Paramjeet Singh of Punjab and
Haryana High Court while pronouncing judgment in the case of Lal Singh
and Major Singh observed that,
“[t]he lifelong imprisonment pays a
little regard to human right and human dignity. Life imprisonment must
be reviewed after certain intervals say 14 years as per the […] Jail
Rules as applicable in the State [...], otherwise indeterminate
imprisonment will be cruel and unusual punishment.”
He further noted in his decision that,
“[i]rreducible life sentence raises an
issue under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whereof Article 5
says, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment”.
Justice Paramjeet Singh emphasized that
“[t]he essential core of the humanity is
that everyone is redeemable. Indeterminate imprisonment removes any
prospect of reward for change and is therefore, fundamentally inhumane.”
In his remarkable judgment pronounced on
23 August 2012, which has come as a fresh lease of internationalism in
India, the judge continued,
“In real sense to my mind, never going
to be released is equivalent to worse sanction than death sentence. So,
it can be termed as cruel, barbaric, inhumane and against human dignity.
Whole of the natural life imprisonment means nothing in life to a
prisoner. It means he will die in prison. Such a punishment is untenable
in a civilised society. To make the prisoner realise that world no
longer exists for him, he is no longer a part of it, will certainly lead
to inhumane living and against the principles of Article 21 of the
Constitution, such action is not sustainable to my mind.”
Even in the case of Gurmeet Singh,
Lakhwinder Singh and Shamsher Singh, among other things, Additional
Sessions Judge, CBI court, Justice Ravi Kumar Sondhi in his judgment,
has said,
“….their act and conduct coupled with
their roles forces this court to say that at least these three convicts
can be reformed and rehabilitated as a responsible citizen of India.”
We write to you with the hope that as
the world prepares to usher in the New Year, may be the central
government of India and the state government of Punjab would listen to
you and initiate steps to release these prisoners on humanitarian
grounds –a practice which is otherwise followed regularly but easily
forgotten on political grounds.
When asked to explain his stand, human
rights defender Bhai Gurbaksh Singh said, “Asin Jabar Da Mukabla Sabar
Naal Karange” (We will respond to state terrorism with determined
peace). We are now waiting for Amnesty International to respond to this
wake-up call before it is too late.
We will be glad to furnish any further information that you may desire.
Yours sincerely
Kanwar Pal Singh
Chief Spokesperson
Dal Khalsa