WikiLeaks bomb explodes on India

International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) briefed US diplomats in 2005 about alleged widespread torture in Kashmir’s prisons between 2002 and 2004 and argued that the Indian government “condoned” mistreatment.

According to latest WikiLeaks cables posted on Guardian website, continued “ill-treatment of detainees”, despite longstanding ICRC-government of India (GOI) dialogue, led the group to conclude that New Delhi condoned torture, which left Red Cross frustrated.

A cable sent by deputy chief of mission (DCM) Robert Blake from the US embassy in India on April 6, 2005, quoted Red Cross on “relatively stable trend lines of prisoner abuses” allegedly by security forces in Kashmir. It said: “ICRC has become frustrated with Indian government which, they said, had not acted to halt the continued ill-treatment of detainees.”

The torture victims were civilians as militants were “routinely killed”.

“In 852 cases, detainees reported what ICRC refers to as ‘IT’ (ill-treatment): 171 persons were beaten, the remaining 681 subjected to one or more of six forms of torture: electricity (498 cases), suspension from ceiling (381), 294 cases of roller (a round metal object put on the thighs of a sitting person, which prison personnel then sit on, crushing muscles), 181 cases of stretching (legs split 180 degrees), water (234), or sexual (302). Numbers add up to more than 681, as many detainees were subjected to more than one form of IT.

"ICRC stressed all branches of security forces used these forms of IT and torture,” the cable mentioned details given by Red Cross after its visits to detention centers in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and elsewhere (primarily the Northeast) between 2002 and 2004, meeting with 1,491 detainees, 1,296 of which were private interviews.

Reacting to the revelation, India said on Friday it adhered to the rule of law. “If and when an aberration occurs, it is promptly and firmly dealt with under existing legal mechanisms, in an effective and transparent manner. In India, there is a healthy tradition of democratic debate and freedom of expression on all issues that concern the welfare of our citizens anywhere in our country.

"Neither have we shied away from an open and candid discussion on such issues when raised by our international friends and partners,” a ministry of external affairs spokesperson said.

J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah too said India did not condone torture. “The report carried by US diplomats pertains to 2005. I can only talk about this government... we are determined not to allow any incidents of custodial torture,” he said.

The chief minister said, “We are clear in our minds that transparency is the best thing. Similarly, NHRC [National Human Rights Commission] has not made any adverse findings. Reports come in and if there is anything, we take action…Have nothing to investigate based on a cable sent by the [US] embassy to Washington. Nothing for us to investigate,” he said.

Incidentally, the US embassy, in the same report, also said there were signs of progress on the human rights aspect. Then army General JJ Singh and defence minister Pranab Mukherjee were making conscious efforts to prevent rights violations, it said.

It quoted media reports as saying Singh had put human rights issues at the centre of an conference of army commanders and as part of his ‘velvet glove, iron fist’ approach.

The cable quoted reports that Mukherjee was disturbed by continued reports of human rights violations by security forces and wanted them to realise that “while dealing with insurgents, we are operating within our own territory and allegations of human rights violations will not only sully the image of the army, but also reduce our effectiveness in tackling militancy”.

Red Cross had agreed at a later point that rights violations in the Valley had reduced drastically compared to what it was in the 90s.

The cable quoted a Red Cross official (coded XXXXXXXXXXXX) as saying that during their recent interactions with GOI, officials had maintained that the human rights situation in Kashmir was “much better than it was in the 1990s”, a view the US diplomat shared.