This is a communication from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and four UN Special Rapporteurs (on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, health, human rights defenders and torture) to the Government of India expressing grave concern regarding the arbitrary detention, and deteriorating health while in detention, of Mr. Miyan Abdul Qayoom, a human rights lawyer and President of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association.
Topics: extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detention, health, human rights defenders, custodial torture, custodial killings, denial of medical care
Terms: Miyan Abdul Qayoom, Mian Abdul Qayoom, Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, mass crackdowns, Public Safety Act (PSA), abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, secessionism, violation of habeas corpus
The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) include provisions on the responsibility of States regarding health care for persons detained in prisons (rules 24-35)”. For example, States have the obligation to ensure that medical services in prisons guarantee continuity of treatment and care as well as the obligation to transfer prisoners requiring specialized treatment to specialized institutions or civil hospitals, and to ensure that clinical decisions are taken solely by responsible health-care professionals and not overruled or ignored by non-medical prison staff. Furthermore, pursuant to Rule 59, prisoners shall be allocated, to the extent possible, to prisons close to their homes.
We also express concern that Mr. Qayoom’s deprivation of liberty appears to be a reprisal for his opinions, the legitimate and peaceful exercise of his freedom to express them and his human rights work, including in light of the absence, thus far, of a ruling on the lawfulness of his detention.
February 2020
Originally published
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