URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
---------------------------------- 09 July 2004 Further Information on UA 206/04 (Issued 22 June 2004) Death Penalty/Imminent Execution INDIA Dhananjoy Chatterjee (m) The execution of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, scheduled for Friday 25 June, was stayed on 24 June for the President to consider a mercy petition submitted by Chatterjee's family. The President's decision is expected soon: he often commutes death sentences, but as there is widespread popular support for the death penalty in this case, international pressure may be vital. Dhananjoy, a private security guard, was sentenced to death in August 1991 for the rape and murder of an 18-year-old schoolgirl in her apartment in Calcutta on 5 March 1990. As there were no eyewitnesses, the case is reported to have rested on circumstantial evidence alone. Chatterjee pleaded innocent but the Supreme Court ruled that his guilt was ''amply evident''. He was alleged to have committed the crime in revenge for the girl complaining to her parents that he was harassing her. The Supreme Court imposed the death penalty because of the ''savage nature of the crime'', and held that it fell into the category of ''rarest of rare'' cases for which the death penalty could be imposed. After unsuccessful appeals to both the High Court and the Supreme Court, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was due to be hanged on 25 February 1994, after which the date of execution was postponed to 4 and then 18 March 1994, but did not take place. Dhananjoy Chatterjee has remained in jail for the last 14 years. According to Indian newspapers, his new execution date was set by officials from the West Bengal Government, who discovered that he had not been executed when they reviewed old files. BACKGROUND INFORMATION India's highest courts have ruled that the death penalty can only be applied in the ''rarest of rare'' cases. Since this is not further defined and no clear guidelines exist, it is largely up to individual judges to interpret this phrase in deciding whether to impose a death sentence. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The death penalty is an inherently unjust and arbitrary punishment, however heinous the crime for which it is inflicted. Studies globally have shown that it is more likely to be imposed on those who are poorer, less educated and from marginalized segments of society. The death penalty is irrevocable, yet the risk of error in its application is inescapable. Amnesty International recognizes the need to combat violent crime, but there is no convincing evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than other punishments. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible: - urging the President to commute the death sentence passed on Dhananjoy Chatterjee; - 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 be a more effective deterrent than other punishments. APPEALS TO: President: His Excellency A P J Abdul Kalam Office of the President Rashtrapati Bhavan New Delhi 110 004 India Telegram: President Kalam, Office of the President, New Delhi, India Fax: 011 91 11 2301 7290 Salutation: Your Excellency Ambassador Embassy of India 2107 Massachusetts Ave. NW Washington DC 20008 Fax: 1 202 483 3972 Email: ambassa...@indiagov.org Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after July 17, 2004. ------------------------------------------------------- Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that promotes and defends human rights. This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank you for your help with this appeal. Urgent Action Network Amnesty International USA PO Box 1270 Nederland CO 80466-1270 Email: u...@aiusa.org http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/ Phone: 303 258 1170 Fax: 303 258 7881 ---------------------------------- END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE ----------------------------------
