SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2231ment. There are effective channels for appeal at most levels of the judicial system,and the State provides free legal counsel to the indigent.The Criminal Procedure Code provides for an open trial in most cases, but it allowsexceptions in proceedings involving official secrets, trials in which statementsprejudicial to the safety of the state might be made, or under provisions of specialsecurity legislation. Sentences must be announced in public.Muslim personal status law governs many noncriminal matters involving Muslims,including family law, inheritance, and divorce. The Government does not interferein the personal status laws of the minority communities, with the result thatpersonal status laws that discriminate against women are upheld.In Jammu and Kashmir, the judicial system barely functions due to threats bymilitants against judges, witnesses, and their family members; because of judicialtolerance of the Government’s heavy-handed antimilitant actions; and because of thefrequent refusal by security forces to obey court orders. Courts in Jammu and Kashmirare reluctant to hear cases involving terrorist crimes, and fail to act expeditiouslyon habeas corpus cases, if they act at all. There were a few convictions ofalleged terrorists in the Jammu High Court during the year. Many more accusedmilitants have been in pretrial detention for years. On April 1, the Jammu andKashmir Home Minister submitted a written statement to the state assembly acknowledgingthat 115 foreign militants (primarily from Pakistan, but reportedly alsofrom Afghanistan and Tajikistan) jailed in the state and elsewhere had not beentried, despite the fact that many of them had been imprisoned for 10 years (see Section1.d.).Criminal gangs in all four southern states have been known to attack rivals andscare off complainants and witnesses from court premises, denying free access tojustice. In some cases, accused persons have been attacked while being escorted bypolice to the courts.The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Independence of the Judiciary requested tovisit the country during the year, but the Government did not grant the Rapporteurpermission to do so.There were no reports of political prisoners.f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence.—The policemust obtain warrants for searches and seizures. In a criminal investigation, thepolice may conduct searches without warrants to avoid undue delay, but they mustjustify the searches in writing to the nearest magistrate with jurisdiction over theoffense. The authorities in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and Assam have specialpowers to search and arrest without a warrant.The government Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is mandated to investigateforeign exchange and currency violations, searches, interrogates, and arrests thousandsof business and management professionals annually, often without searchwarrants. However, the ED ultimately convicts very few persons. In 1997 only 28persons out of thousands arrested were convicted, according to the Times of India.The Indian Telegraph Act authorizes the surveillance of communications, includingmonitoring telephone conversations and intercepting personal mail, in case ofpublic emergency or ‘‘in the interest of the public safety or tranquillity.’’ Every stategovernment has used these powers, as has the central Government.In early January, soldiers set fire to 47 shops in an open market in Pattan Town,northern Kashmir Valley, in retaliation for a nearby ambush in which militantskilled 2 soldiers. The army used gasoline to spread the blaze and shot at fire trucksthat arrived on the scene. Human rights activists were unaware of any effort to holdsecurity force members accountable for the rampage in Pattan Town; governmentinformation on action against suspects was unavailable.g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts.—Governmentforces continue to commit numerous serious violations of humanitarianlaw in the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. Between 350,000 and450,000 army and paramilitary forces are deployed in Jammu and Kashmir. TheMuslim majority population in the Kashmir valley suffers from the repressive tacticsof the security forces. Under the Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, andthe Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, both passed in July1990, security force personnel have extraordinary powers, including authority toshoot suspected lawbreakers and those persons disturbing the peace, and to destroystructures suspected of harboring militants or arms.The Union Home Ministry was unable to estimate how many civilians were killedin crossfire by security forces in Jammu and Kashmir during the year. It reportedthat 84 such deaths occurred in Jammu and Kashmir in 1996–1997. The securityforces continue to abduct and kill suspected militants; the security forces have notaccepted accountability for these abuses. Many commanders’ inclination to distanceVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00075 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1