The Indian chapter of Amnesty International has urged the authorities to ensure investigation into the killing of two youngsters in Kashmir allegedly by the Army and subsequent prosecution of soldiers.
“These deaths must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially, and where sufficient admissible evidence is found, a competent, independent and impartial civilian court should prosecute the suspects,” Shashikumar Velath, Programmes Director, Amnesty International India said in a statement.
This year, the Amnesty has issued several statements against the security forces and armed groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir when alleged human rights violations took place from the either side. The AI also ran an online campaign urging the Chief Minister to sign an order repealing the controversial Public Safety Act that allows authorities to jail a person without trial for two years.
“Authorities must ensure that the process is not impeded, either by the Army taking the matter to a military court or by the Central Government blocking prosecution using the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act”, the statement added.
Eighteen-year-old Irfan Ahmad Ganai and 24-year Tariq Ahmad leharwal were shot dead by the troops in two separate but interlinked incidents on May 30 in Markandal village near Sumbal pocket of North Kashmir’s Bandipore district. The J&K police have filed a First Information Report against unnamed Army personnel for the murder of Irfan Ganai.
The Amnesty has observed that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act mandates prior permission from the Central Government before any soldier can be prosecuted for exercising powers conferred by the Act. “Such permission is almost never granted”, Velath said.
A number of Indian bodies, including the Second Administrative Reforms Commission and the Jeevan Reddy Commission, and UN bodies, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, have stated that the AFSPA must be repealed.
“The AFSPA gives armed forces sweeping and unfettered powers, including to shoot and even kill ‘any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order’, and then protects them from being prosecuted,” said Velath.
“The result has been numerous violations of the right to life - a key human right under international and Indian law - with virtually absolute impunity.“Authorities must ensure that investigations into these two incidents are taken to their logical end, those responsible are brought to justice in fair trials, and the AFSPA is repealed in J&K and elsewhere.”