Jan
6
Arbitrary Detention/Fear of Torture of Sikh Author Ajmer Singh
January 6, 2006 | Comments Off on Arbitrary Detention/Fear of Torture of Sikh Author Ajmer Singh
On the evening of Thursday, January 5, 2006, Indian police abducted Sikh author Ajmer Singh from a residence in Chandigarh, India. The police have refused to reveal Singh’s whereabouts to his family or acknowledge his detention.
The police failed to invoke a legal basis for the deprivation of liberty, violated Indian laws on arrest and detention, and indicated by their actions that they targeted Ajmer Singh for the exercise of his freedom of opinion and expression. Because the police are holding Ajmer Singh in incommunicado detention, he also faces a significant risk of torture.
ENSAAF has submitted an urgent action appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the case of Ajmer Singh, as well as communications to Punjab’s Chief Minister and Director General of Police.
ENSAAF calls on the Government of Punjab to release Ajmer Singh; otherwise, it must acknowledge the detention of Ajmer Singh, inform his family of the place of detention, state the reasons for arrest, provide Ajmer Singh with access to counsel, produce him before a magistrate within 24 hours of detention, and protect him from torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
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