“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” - Global Coalition to Protect ...

Naxalites beat and kill villagers, particularly people they suspect of being police
informers, and village leaders including sarpanches, patels, and priests. In some
cases, these beatings and killings follow a jan adalat (people’s court). Naxalites
organize such jan adalats to conduct public trials and punish offenders. For instance,
wealthy landowners are brought before such a court and asked to hand over a
portion of their assets for redistribution among the poorer villagers; those that dare
to oppose the sentence or ruling are beaten. Suspected police informers or traitors
may be sentenced to death.
The fairness of any justice system should be tested against international human
rights law criteria that include independence, impartiality, and competency of judges,
presumption of innocence, right to legal counsel and adequate time for preparation
of defense, and the right to appeal. 319 Jan adalats fail to meet any of these standards.
Subba Atish, a former Naxalite said he had participated in two jan adalats and seen
four villagers being executed:
The jan adalat is organized by the commander or deputy commander
of a dalam [armed squad]. They get about 15 villages together and
pass a sentence. Members of the area committee, range committee
head, and divisional committee will pass the sentence. They [accused]
are usually supposed to be given a chance to defend themselves but
generally this is how it works—first they are brought and beaten, and
by the time the beating is over they are so scared that they will admit
to the crime. Villagers and relatives who come to their defense are
threatened and they don’t have much of a defense in these adalats. If
a relative says something, the commander will say: “So you also are
with him [accused]? You want the same thing to happen to you?” … [I]f
they [leaders] have made up their mind in the matter they tend to
ignore villagers’ opinion. They will say, “This is an enemy. If you want
him punished, raise your hand.” Even if the people say “don’t kill,” if
319 See, for example ICCPR, arts. 6 and 14; see also common article 3 to the 1949 Geneva Conventions (a party to a conflict is
prohibited at all times from “the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment
pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by
civilized peoples”).
“Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” 98