This is a communication of UN Special Rapporteurs (on extrajudicial executions, freedom of opinion and freedom of peaceful assembly) to the Government of India expressing grave concern regarding the arbitrary killings of 20 civilians by Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
Topics: arbitrary killing of civilians, civil disobedience, excessive use of force, non-response by Indian Government, impunity
Terms: killings of Abbas Ahmad Rather, Amir Manzoor Rasray, Javaid Ahmad Mir, Border Security Forces (BSF) killings, police killings, teargas, pellet guns, shotguns, misuse of firearms
Concerns about the deteriorating human rights situation, including the violent dispersal of protests by excessive use of force by security forces and the disproportionate restrictions on freedom of expression, in Jammu and Kashmir have been the subject of previous communications sent by Special Procedures: Cases IND 5/2016, IND 3/2017 and IND 7/2017.We appreciate the response received regarding the case IND 5/2016, but regret that the other communications remain unanswered.
It has been alleged that police forces are not trained in the management of assemblies and have not applied the maximum restraint possible to apply nonviolent means before resorting to the use of force and lethal weapons, in order to minimize injury, and respect and preserve human life. Furthermore and despite the severity of these incidents, it is reported that in the majority of these cases no measures were taken to ensure that the use of force by police is credibly and impartially investigated and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
September 2017
Originally published
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