India: Torture and deaths in custody in Jammu and Kashmir (includes correction: number of custodial deaths amended to 706)

This report details the cases of 715 detainees who died in the custody of Indian security forces in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the period 1990-1994. They were allegedly tortured to death or shot outright. In areas where government forces are engaged in counter-insurgency operations against armed groups fighting for independence or for the state to join Pakistan, the entire civilian population is at risk of arbitrary detention, torture, even death. Most of the victims are young men, detained during “crackdown” operations to identify armed militants. Almost all those detained are tortured: many do not survive, others are left disabled or mutilated. Scores of women in Jammu and Kashmir claim to have been raped by security forces. Armed militants have also committed gross abuses, including kidnapping, torture and murder: these are also described. The legal framework within which these violations occur is discussed.

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