FORUM-ASIA demands Kishorchandra's release
Source: The Sangai Express

Bangkok/Kathmandu, December 26 2018: The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)has strongly denounced the detention of Kishorchandra Wangkhem under NSA treating him like a National security threat for posting a video on social media criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Government.

A press release issued by FORUM-ASIA today narrated that Kishorchandra Wangkhem was arrested on sedition charges on November 20 for posting a video on Facebook criticising Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kishorchandra was produced before a Magistrate and on November 26 he was released on bail by the Magistrate stating that his statements did not seem to be an attempt to disturb peace.

The order said it was a mere expression of opinion against the Prime Minister and Chief Minister, which can not be equated with an attack to invite people to conduct violence and topple the Governments.

Having failed to charge Wangkhem under Indian Penal Code, the Manipur police took the drastic step of invoking the National Security Act (NSA) 1980 against Kishorchandra Wangkhem and detained him again on November 27, it informed adding that an administrative board constituted under the NSA arbitrarily sentenced him to one-year jail term without providing him any legal representation.

It continued that on December 14, the State Government approved the detention order under NSA and fixed the detention for a period of one year from the date of detention.

It conveyed that it is shocking that the advisory board under NSA curbed Kishorchandra's liberty without any regard for the law when a Magistrate did not find the journalist's action worthy of jail term even under the Indian Penal Code.

On December 16, Delhi police detained 35 members of Manipur Students' Association, Delhi (MSAD) and Delhi Association of Manipur Muslim Students (DAMMS) while they were proceeding towards the Manipur Bhawan with the intention of a peaceful protest, FORUM-ASIA explained reasoning that the draconian provisions of NSA violate several international human right standards.

NSA allows the State to detain anyone for up to a year without framing any substantial charges.

It gives power to the Central Government, State Government, even the Commissioner of Police or District Magistrate to detain anyone and put them under extended periods of preventive detention whom they suspect to be a threat to public order.

The detainee is not provided with any fair trial including legal representation.

As the record shows, such advisory board is reluctant to act against the State and it directly places detention orders primarily on the ground that it is executive and is best positioned to assess threats to public order.

It conveyed that preventive detention under NSA is an extraordinary provision and its use.

in peace time has been roundly criticised by rights activists in India.

Many times NSA has been invoked repeatedly against the same person as soon as the person is released after serving the jail term.

With no safeguards in place, the provision has been grossly misused to target journalists, human rights activists, peasants, trade unionists and protesters critical of Government actions and policies.

Arrest of anti-Sterlite protesters in Tamil Nadu, detention of Dalit leader Chandrasekhar Azad in Uttar Pradesh and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi in Assam are some politically motivated arrests made under NSA in past two years, it explained adding that the law has been used largely by Government authorities to silence inconvenient critics and opponents by slapping vague accusations on them and without the necessity of having to prove them at trial.

FORUM-ASIA expressed concern over the repeated attacks and crackdown on dissent in India seen as the world's largest democracy and- strongly urged both the Central Government and the State Government to" release Kishorchandra Wangkhem and remove the charges against him under the NSA.

It further urged the Government to demonstrate its commitment to human rights reform by repealing the widely misused and repugnant laws such as NSA, preventive detention clauses under various legislation, and ensure press freedom and the safe environment to protest and express dissent.

The Supreme Court of India has rightly acknowledged dissent as the safety valve of democracy, and it is time for the Government to respect and protect it, FORUM-ASIA added.

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