During
the trial, Dr. Fai was supported by people from all faiths. Christians,
Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and even atheists wrote dozens
of letters regarding Dr. Fai to the judge. These were people from the
Unites States, United Kingdom, Netherlands,
Norway, Denmark, Thailand,
India, Pakistan, Canada,
Bahrain, Qatar, Turkey,
from both sides of the ceasefire line in Kashmir,
and many other countries.
On
the day of sentence verdict, the courtroom was filled to capacity with people
who came from places like California, Kansas, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Virginia, Washington DC,
North Carolina, Connecticut,
Massachusetts,
and other states.
India's human rights
violations in Kashmir
Interestingly, the UN Special Rapporteur's report on India's human rights violations was released the same day when Dr. Fai's verdict was announced. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Christof Heyns released an interim report at the end of his 12-day visit to Jammu & Kashmir and the states of Gujrat, Kerala, Assam and West Bengal, terming the Armed Forces Special Powers Act as a symbol of excessive state power that has resulted in consuming innocent lives in Jammu and Kashmir and Indian state Assam.
Christof Heyns told reporters in New Delhi that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act allows the state to override rights and has no role in a democracy. Under the law, troops have the right to shoot anyone suspected of being a rebel and to arrest suspected militants without a warrant.
"This law has been described to me as "hated,' and a member of a state human rights commission has called it draconian," said Heyns. The special powers law has been in force in different parts of the country since 1958 and is currently enforced in Indian-administered Kashmir and in the states of Manipur and Nagaland in the northeast, all battling separatist movements. In all three regions, human rights workers have accused Indian troops of illegally detaining, torturing and killing rebel suspects, sometimes even staging gun battles as pretexts to kill.
The law also prohibits soldiers from being prosecuted for alleged rights violations unless granted express permission from the federal government. According to official documents, the state government in Indian administered Kashmir has sought permission to try soldiers in 50 cases in the last two decades, but the federal government has refused every one.
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