DEUTSCHER BUNDESTAG
Ausschuss für Menschenrechte
und Humanitäre Hilfe
- Die Vorsitzende -

11011 Berlin, 22. Januar 2003
Platz der Republik 1
Tel.: (030) 22 7-3 35 50
Fax: (030) 22 7-3 60 51

Seine Exzellenz
Herrn Präsidenten
der Republik Indien

Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Neu Delhi

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid of the German Bundestag on a matter of extreme urgency, which is causing great concern in Germany.

In 1995, the Indian citizen Professor Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a Sikh who had applied for political asylum in Germany, was deported from Germany to India. This deportation, as was subsequently recognised and confirmed by court ruling, should never have taken place, since the German authority carrying out the deportation had committed grave procedural errors.

Subsequent to his deportation, Professor Singh Bhullar was sentenced to death in India on August 2001 for his alleged involvement in a bomb attack. His appeal at the Supreme Court of India in March 2002 was also unsuccessful. Whilst two of the three judges upheld the death sentence, the presiding judge at the Supreme Court submitted a dissenting opinion, pleading for an acquittal, citing a lack of corroborative evidence for Professor Singh Bhullar's "confession".

In addition, Mr Singh Bhullar retracted his "confession", which he said had been extracted under torture. In another hearing at the Supreme Court on 17 December 2002, two of the three judges present again upheld the death sentence on Mr Singh Bhullar. We understand that Mr Singh Bhullar filed a petition to the Supreme Court on 16 January 2003, which has not yet been decided on by the court. If this last legal remedy fails, there is a risk that the death sentence might be enforced straight away.

Your Excellency, as you are aware, Professor Singh Bhullar filed a petition for a pardon to you on 15 January. I would like to stress that the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid strongly supports this petition. We urgently appeal to you to make use of your power to grant a pardon, so that Professor Singh Bhullar's death sentence is not enforced.

Yours sincerely

Sgd. Christa Nickels
Chairwoman of the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid

21 January 2003

UA 21/03 Imminent Execution/Unfair trial

Amnesty International is concerned that Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller may be facing imminent execution. His death sentence, handed down in an apparently unfair trial, was upheld by the Supreme Court in August 2002. His only hope of clemency now lies in a mercy petition filed with the Indian President, A J P Abdul Kalam, who has the power to commute the sentence.

Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller was sentenced to death on 29 August 2001 after being found guilty of involvement in the 1993 bombing of the Youth Congress Office in the capital, New Delhi. Twelve people were killed and 29 injured in the blast. Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller sought political asylum in Germany, but was forcibly returned to India, where he was arrested on arrival at New Delhi airport in January 1995.

There are serious concerns that Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller may not have been given a fair trial. He was arrested under the now-lapsed Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, which has no provision for appeals to the High Court. He was found guilty solely on the strength of an unsubstantiated confession he made in police custody, allegedly under intense police pressure, which he later retracted. A second defendant in the case was acquitted because the only evidence against him was Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller's confession.

Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller appealed against the death sentence in December 2001, but the appeal was rejected by a three-member bench of the Supreme Court. This was not a unanimous decision, because the most senior of the three judges found the accused not guilty and directed that he should be released. In general, in cases of a split decision, the death penalty is not handed down. However, while the Supreme Court was considering Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller 's appeal, armed militants attacked the Lokh Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament) on 13th December 2001. Observers believe that heightened rhetoric about the threat of "terrorism" in India and a hardening of government policies may have influenced the judges' decision.

A review petition was filed in the Supreme Court in December 2002, questioning the legitimacy of the rejection of Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller's appeal. The review petition was heard by the same three judges, who upheld their original decision. It was again a majority decision, with the same senior judge again expressing dissent.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:

- urging that the President immediately commutes the death sentence imposed on Davinder Pal Singh Bhuller;
- pointing out the controversial nature of the two decisions made by the Supreme Court;
- expressing unconditional opposition to the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and emphasizing that the death penalty has never been shown to have a special deterrent effect;
- reminding the President of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights resolution of April 1999 that governments should establish a moratorium on executions.

APPEALS TO: (You may have difficulties when trying to fax India, please be persistent)

His Excellency A J P Abdul Kalam
The President of India
Office of the President
Rashtrapati Bhavan
New Delhi 110 004
India
Fax: + 91 11 23017290 / 23017824
Salutation: Dear President

COPIES TO:
Mr Soli Sorobjee
The Attorney General
The Office of the Attorney General
Supreme Court Of India
Tilak Marg
New Delhi 110 001
India
Fax: + 91 11 2463 4014
Salutation: Dear Mr Attorney General

and to diplomatic representatives of India accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 5 March 2003.

Susan Batley
South Asia Team
Tel: 0044 [0] 20 7413 5651
Fax: 0044 [0] 20 7956 1157

Over 4 million people ask Europe Why? Germany sends an innocent Asylum Seeker, a former lecturer, a political dissident, to his death. Thousands of Sikhs around the world send delegates to ask that the death sentence is commuted. Death sentence is passed by split verdict in Supreme Court of India for the first time in Supreme Court history.

Basis: "Proof Beyond Reasonable Doubt" a guideline, not a fetish. (Indian Supreme Court says) Procedure is Handmaiden not Mistress of Law (Indian Supreme Court says).

Evidence: An alleged fabricated confession on blank paper signed with a thumbprint under torture and threat of death.

On 17 December 2002, several years after Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar first sought asylum from Germany, the Supreme Court of India confirmed the death sentence and he now waits in death row in Tihar Central Prison, New Delhi, India. Prof. Davinderpal Singh Bhullar, a Sikh political activist had sought asylum from Germany's fast track system but was rejected. Bhullar was a known political dissident and had claimed that his life was at risk in India because of his political activism. His family were persecuted as evidenced by the "disappearance" of his father, uncle and best friend.

Germany is morally obliged to intervene because Bhullar's case exposes weaknesses in the German asylum system which has led him to face the death penalty. A one hundred thousand signature petition was handed over to a member of the Bundestag in September 2001 in addition to online petitions and letters. A 4 million person petition against the death penalty was presented to the United Nations by Sant Egidio church.

The other bizarre part of the case is that Bhullar was deported from Germany in 1995, even when Germany fully realised that deporting someone to a death-penalty prone country violates the European Convention on Human Rights. After his deportation, the court of appeal in Frankfurt admitted his appeal and said that he should not been deported as he would face torture, harassment and death in India and were he to re enter to Germany he would be given asylum Verwaltungsgericht Frankfurt, Case 8E5039994.A(1). Upon entering India he was arrested and subjected to torture.

The death sentence on Davinderpal Singh Bhullar has been passed on the basis of a confession given before a police officer which under normal criminal law is not admissible as evidence. Not a single witness, out of the 133 witnesses identified him. His two accused have been set free and the other two, according to the police are missing. For the first time in India's Supreme Court criminal jurisprudence history, the Supreme Court is to execute someone on the basis of a split judgement. The presiding judge, Justice Shah has totally acquitted the accused whereas the other two judges, Justice Aggarwal and Justice Passayat have upheld the death sentence.

The Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of the lower court. Two Indian Supreme Court judges of the three-judge panel upheld the death sentence arguing that proof "beyond reasonable doubt" should be a "guideline, not a fetish," and that procedure is only "a handmaiden and not the mistress of law." The presiding Judge, Justice M. B. Shah acquitted Professor Bhullar and substantiated his decision by stating that the conspiracy theory falls flat as the "rest of the accused who are named in the confessional statement are not convicted or tried."

The Supreme Court of India upheld the decision of the lower court. Two Indian Supreme Court judges of the three-judge panel upheld the death sentence arguing that proof "beyond reasonable doubt" should be a "guideline, not a fetish," and that procedure is only "a handmaiden and not the mistress of law." The presiding Judge, Justice M. B. Shah acquitted Professor Bhullar and substantiated his decision by stating that the conspiracy theory falls flat as the "rest of the accuseds who are named in the confessional statement are not convicted or tried."

While Justice Shah concentrated on the facts of the case, Justice Pasayat chose to decide the case with political rhetoric and find Professor Bhullar guilty based on contradicting arguments and judgments. The police, in contravention of the law, failed to send the confessional statement at the earliest opportunity to the magistrate concerned. The other two judges upheld the confession admissible saying that neither proof beyond reasonable doubt nor procedure was important.

Virtually every legal system in the world is based on "proof beyond reasonable doubt" and respects procedures to obtain "safe" evidence. This Supreme Court decision has tremendous implications on the legal system in India; it effectively suggests that there is no need to adopt this well-established principle.

Secondly, the decision implies that there is no need for police officers to follow procedures that safeguard those arrested. These procedures were relaxed under TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act) and this decision has effectively made them unnecessary. The United Nations condemned TADA as "disturbing and completely unacceptable." (Nigel Rodley, UN Rapporteur) No corroborated evidence has been given to support the alleged confession of Professor Bhullar. This judgment will continue to erode the rights of vulnerable people in India.

We appeal to the German government and all member states to use their good offices and ensure that the Indian government commutes Davinderpal Singh's death sentence to life imprisonment. The death sentence is ethically inhuman, legally wrong and politically unwise. Baroness Cox raised her concerns in the House of Lords last January and many members of parliament and prominent officials have added to this concern.

The international campaign for justice for Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar will now launch a series of protests and vigils commencing in the UK on 14 January and will then be held in Germany, Brussels, across Europe, North America, Australia and the Far East. We are worried that there seems to be a complete media blackout in India. The first stage of the protest will begin in the U.K. on 14 January outside the German Embassy, London - 23 Belgrave Square between 12.30 p.m. and 1.15 pm . A group of delegates will be petitioning the German embassy on the inhumanity of the death penalty for Professor Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar.

The second stage of the protest in the UK will also be on 14 January outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London,1.45 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. and involve the community at large. Politicians from each of the three main political parties are expected to join British Sikhs in the protest and the mainstream media are likely to be present. The Professor Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar Campaign Team in the UK are in the process of finalising the International Week of Protest.

Further information about the international campaign for justice for Professor Davinderpal Singh Bhullar can be obtained by e-mailing the following:

British Sikh Federation - Kashmir Singh
(british.sikh.fed@talk21.com)

Khalsa Human Rights - Gurjit Singh
(KhalsaHR@dial.pipex.com)

Shromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) - Jagmohan Singh
(jagmohan@hotvoice.com)

Sikh Secretariat - Deepinder Singh
(info@sikhjustice.com)

VFF (info@voicesforfreedom.org)

Useful Contact Details for Germans: Your member of parliament, requesting them to get in touch with your Foreign Minister on this subject:

-Dr. Ludger Volmer (ludger.volmer@bundestag.de) (Part of the Foreign Ministry)

-Mr. Joschka Fischer - Foreign Minister, Auswartiges Amt (Ministry forForeign Affairs)

-Referat fur Menschenrechte (Human Rights Department), Bundestag, Werderscher Markt 1, 10113 Berlin Germany Tel: 01888/17-0, Fax: 01888/17-3402 or 030-5000-3402

-Mr. Heimo Richter - Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in India.No. 6/50G, Shanti - ath, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021Tel: (0091-11) 2687 18 31 - 37 FAX: (0091-11) 2687 31 17 , E-Mail:germany@vsnl.com

-Mr. Herr Gerd Poppe, Ministry for Human Rights, Germany c/o Bundestag Address and fax as previously given.

-Mr. Ronald Münch (GF08-2@auswaertiges-amt.de) and write to Thomas Matussek, Ambassador, at the German Embassy - 23 Belgrave Square, London and email: political@germanembassy.org.uk

- Mr. Dieter Kastrup -Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations (no fax or email details yet)

-The President of India, Rashtarpatti Bhavan, New Delhi, India.

Press Release

Another previous Gift of Life To Go To The Gallows Within Days.