The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and another UN expert to the Government of India on 5 August 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the sending of the communication, Suneeta Pottam has been acquitted in one of the twelve cases registered against her. At the time of publication, she remains detained.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the arbitrary arrest and detention of women human rights defender Suneeta Pottam.
Ms. Suneeta Pottam is an Adivasi woman human rights defender who, from a young age, has worked to promote the rights of Adivasis, as well as the rights of women and girls in India. She is a founding member of the Mulwasi Bachao Manch, which advocates for the rights of the Adivasis, and documents violations of their human rights by state and corporate actors. Ms. Pottam is the head of the branch of the group in Bijapur District, Chhattisgarh. She is also a member of the Executive Committee of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) in Chhattisgarh, and a member of Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression, a national organisation.
Multiple prior communications have been addressed to the Indian Government concerning alleged retaliation against human rights defenders promoting the rights of the Adivasis (see AL IND 5/2023, AL IND 14/2021, AL IND 12/2021 and AL IND 10/2021).
ALLEGATIONS
In 2016, Ms. Pottam filed a petition at the Chhattisgarh High Court challenging alleged extrajudicial executions of civilians by members of India’s armed forces in Bijapur District. From this time on, she has continued to speak out about the human rights situation in Chhattisgarh, and been subjected to intimidation, harassment and threats of arrest by police as a result. She reported acts of retaliation before national instances in September 2016, January 2018, June 2018 and 2020.
On 9 April 2024, Ms. Pottam was surrounded by plainclothes policemen in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. The policemen, allegedly from the specialist District Reserve Guard, claimed without providing documentation that Ms. Pottam had been summoned by their senior officer, and attempted to drag her towards their vehicle, seizing her phone as they did. Ms. Pottam was able to escape and fled into the nearby office, where she was followed by the policemen. Ms. Pottam then requested the policemen present a warrant for her arrest and recovered her phone. The policemen, who were unable to show any such warrant, remained on the premises for approximately 2 hours before leaving.
On 3 June 2024, Ms. Pottam’s residence in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where she had gone to study, was raided by the Bijapur District Police. The human rights defender was violently dragged from her residence and brought to an unmarked car. No warrant was presented, and the police did not inform Ms. Pottam why she was being arrested. Despite female police being present, Ms. Pottam was grabbed by male officers. During the arrest, she was slapped, hit on the thighs and had her clothes torn. Despite informing the police officers that she needed sanitary pads, Ms. Pottam was not allowed to return to her residence to collect them. She was then driven 450 km from Raipur to a police station in Bijapur. She was subsequently presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, who informed the human rights defender five criminal cases had been registered against her. She was remanded in police custody and brought to the women’s prison in Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh.
As of the finalization of this communication, Ms. Pottam remains detained, and has since been informed of seven further accusations against her, bringing the total to twelve accusations registered in 3 separate police stations. The accusations included multiple allegedly baseless allegations, including murder, damage to government property and membership of the Communist Party of India.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our serious concern at the violent arrest and continuing detention of Ms. Pottam, as well as the accusations made against her, which we fear to be acts of retaliation for her legitimate human rights work, aimed at silencing her criticism of alleged human rights violations committed by the state and to ensure impunity for any such violations.
We are further concerned about the targeting of Adivasis, their leaders, human rights defenders and journalists, for their legitimate and peaceful human rights activities. We wish to express our most serious concern about what appears to be a pattern of acts of violence against the above-mentioned Indigenous Peoples.
