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Petition to Get Amritpal Singh and Other Sikh Activists Released from Arbitrary Detention in India

Sikh Leader Amritpal Singh

ਸਿੱਖ ਆਗੂ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਡਿਬਰੂਗੜ੍ਹ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਵਿੱਚ 

डिब्रूगढ़ जेल में सिख नेता अमृतपाल सिंह

UN Human Rights, USCIRF Petition to Protect Human Rights of Sikh Youth Leader Amritpal Singh and Other Sikh Activists and Get Them Released from Arbitrary Detention in India

As a journalist and human rights defender, I sent the following petition to different authorities.

To                                                                                                          March 21, 2024

Mr. Volker Türk
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais Wilson, 52 rue des Pâquis, CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland

Mr. Abraham Cooper
Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
732 N. Capitol Street, N.W.
Suite A714, Washington, DC 20401

Copy for Immediate Action to:

Mr. Antony Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State
Mr. Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, EU
Chief Justice of India at the Supreme Court of India
Chief Justice at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, India

And other international agencies working in the fields of human rights and religious freedom rights of citizens in all parts of the world.

Subject: Petition to seek intervention of the international agencies such as OHCHR, USCIRF, and others to protect the human rights and right to freedom of religion for Amritpal Singh and others who are being arbitrarily kept in jail by the Indian regime.

Relevant Laws and Regulations for the Petition: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, USCIRF recommendation for Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for India, Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, establishment of a special international court like International Military Tribunal of Nuremberg to prosecute accused Indian authorities, international human rights laws and standards. [ Specific references are given below. ]

Petition by: Rakesh Raman, who is a journalist and human rights defender

ABOUT THE PETITION

The Indian state of Punjab – where most people belong to the minority Sikh community – has been facing a situation of extreme unrest particularly for the past 2 years, beginning 2022. 

As the Punjab Government under chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann is not able to run the government affairs effectively, the government is misusing its authority and unleashing police brutality to terrorize innocent people who raise their voice against misgovernance in the state. 

Different sections of society including unemployed youth, farmers, journalists, and social activists are the targets of CM Bhagwant Mann’s oppression. 

Amritpal Singh, who is the leader of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ (or inheritors of Punjab) social group, was running various field campaigns to combat the dreaded drug menace in the state and asking people to follow the Sikh religion in order to protect them from the clutches of immorality prevalent in Punjab. 

Since it is reported that many local politicians in connivance with Punjab Police are clandestinely running the illegal drug racket in Punjab, CM Bhagwant Mann has not been quite eager to take action against the people of his own fraternity.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has also observed that there is a criminal collusion between Punjab Police and criminals in the drugs mafia. According to an NDTV report of October 13, 2023, the court rebuked the Punjab Government and the police for allowing the drugs trade to flourish in Punjab. 

But the Bhagwant Mann government deliberately  ignored the court’s observation and drug addiction is spreading like a pandemic disease across the state of 30 million people. As a result of Bhagwant Mann’s inaction, thousands of people – young and old – are dying because of drug consumption. 

Since youth leader Amritpal Singh was spearheading a statewide campaign against lethal drugs so that the lives of people could be saved, the business of drug mafia – which colludes with police, politicians, and bureaucrats – was getting affected. 

Therefore, the Bhagwant Mann government – in connivance with the Central government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi – used draconian laws such as the National Security Act (NSA) to wrongfully incarcerate Amritpal Singh and his companions in the Dibrugarh jail of Assam which is thousands of miles away from their home state Punjab. 

As the hostile actions of the Punjab Government and the Central Indian government violate the human rights of Amritpal Singh and his companions, their rights should be protected through international intervention.

You can read the full petition which is given below or click here to download and read the petition.

RESPONSE FROM PUNJAB STATE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

In response to this petition that I had filed in March 2024, I received a response from the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC). In its order dated 02.04.2024, PSHRC asserted that since Amritpal Singh and his companions have already approached the competent authority of law (court) and the allegations are against the Government of India, PSHRC is not supposed to take any action in this case. You can read the relevant page of the PSHRC order which is given below.

Update: July 5, 2024

[ Video: ਐਮਪੀ MP ਬਣਨ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਕੀ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਜੇਲ੍ਹ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਹਰ ਆ ਸਕਦਾ ਹੈ? ]

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