ALJAZEERA
“Security personnel detain protesters in Srinagar.” PHOTO/The Hindu
The cable, released on Thursday, says that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) had briefed US diplomats on widespread torture in 2005.
The memo, titled “ICRC frustrated with the Indian government”dates back to April 6, 2005, and outlines a confidential meeting in which the ICRC told diplomats of “torture methods and relatively stable trends of prisoner abuses by Indian security forces”, based on data derived from 1,491 interviews with detainees from 2002-2004.
ICRC was quoted as saying their staff made 177 visits to detention centres in Jammu and Kashmir and conducted 1,296 private interviews, but reported that “they had not been allowed access to all detainees”.
Techniques included electric shock treatment, sexual and water torture and nearly 300 cases of “roller” abuse in which a round metal object is placed on the thighs of a sitting detainee and then sat on by guards to crush the muscles, according to the cable.
The memo added that since torture and ill-treatment continues unbated, “the ICRC is forced to conclude that the Government of India (GOI) condones torture”.
Prerna Suri, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in New Delhi, said though shocking, the allegations were not new.
“Human rights groups and activists have been bringing out all these allegations in the last few years at various public fora,” she said.
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“The Armed Forces special Powers Act gives the army sweeping immunity … They can pick up civilians who they think are perpetrators, and in some cases they can also get away with killings and torture with any prosecution … and some say that this is where the rot actually stems from”.
AlJazeera for more
(Thanks to Mukul Dube)