By Muslim Mirror Staff

The Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) on Monday released the first comprehensive report on torture in Jammu and Kashmir titled Torture: Indian State’s Instrument of Control in Indian Administered Jammu and Kashmir.

JKCCS is a federation of human rights organisations and individuals working in Jammu and Kashmir.

The report focuses on the torture perpetrated in Jammu and Kashmir by the government forces since 1990 and provides a contextual understanding of various phases of torture being perpetrated in Jammu and Kashmir since 1947.

As per the report rape, sodomy, electrocution including in genitals, sleep deprivation and hanging from the ceiling are some of the cruel forms of torture used by armed forces and Jammu and Kashmir police against people in Kashmir since 1990.

“Due to legal, political and moral impunity extended to the armed forces, not a single prosecution has taken place in any case of human rights violations,” the report says, adding that ” “Torture is used as a matter of policy by the Indian State in Jammu and Kashmir in a systematic and institutional manner, as all the institutions of the State, be it a legislature, executive, judiciary and armed forces form a part.”

Using 432 case studies, the report charts out trends and patterns, targets, perpetrators, sites, contexts and impacts of torture in Jammu and Kashmir.

The report includes stripping the detainees naked (190 out of 432 cases studied for this report), beating with sticks, iron rods or leather belts (326 cases), roller treatment (169 cases), water-boarding (24 cases), dunking detainees’ head in water (101 cases), electrocution including in genitals (231 cases), hanging from the ceiling, mostly upside down (121 cases), burning of the body with hot objects (35 cases), solitary confinement (11 cases), sleep deprivation (21 cases), sexual torture (238 cases) including rape and sodomy, among others.

The report recommends for an international investigation on torture in Kashmir, led by UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, besides urging India to ratify the UN Convention against Torture and end the phenomenon of torture.