[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1300-E1301]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            68-YEAR-OLD SIKH LEADER BRUTALLY BEATEN IN INDIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DAN BURTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 17, 1996

  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, when we debated my amendment last 
month to freeze development aid to India, a few of my colleagues had 
the audacity to suggest that India had cleaned up it human rights 
problems. They said that reports of continuing human rights abuses were 
questionable.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone who follows human rights developments around 
the world knows that India's abuses against Sikhs, Kashmiris, and 
others continue unabated. Some defenders of India praised its 
government for letting its notorious ``TADA'' law expire last year. 
This law, the ``Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act,'' gave the 
Indian Government blanket authority to arrest almost anyone and hold 
them in prison for 2 years without filing any charges. My colleagues 
will be interested to know that, even though the law was not renewed, 
tens of thousands of Sikhs continue to be held in prison without charge 
in Punjab. Asia Watch has reported that ``virtually everyone detained 
in Punjab is tortured.'' This says a great deal about the rule of law 
in India.
  Now I would like to inform my colleagues about an incident that 
occurred at the airport in New Delhi just 2 weeks ago. A 68-year-old 
Sikh, a citizen of England who had to get off an international flight 
because of heart problems, was severely beaten by India's intelligence 
service. His injuries were confirmed by the Medical Foundation for the 
Care of Victims of Torture in London.
  Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohan was traveling to Bangkok from London. He was 
experiencing an acute heart condition on the flight, so during a 
layover in New Delhi, he was taken off the flight in a wheelchair to 
receive medical care. Instead, Dr. Chohan, who has been a peaceful 
advocate of an independent Sikh homeland called Khalistan, received a 
severe beating.
  India's immigration officials refused to allow him to go to a 
hospital. While he was being held at the airport, roughly 20 officials 
from the Research and Analysis Wing [RAW], India's intelligence service 
came into the waiting area and beat this elderly man with their fists, 
kicked him, and whipped him with a leather belt. The beating lasted for 
about 10 minutes. He was then put back on the plane without any regard 
for his injuries or his problems and sent on to Thailand.
  Dr. Chohan was quickly returned to London, where he was examined by 
Dr. Forrest of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of 
Torture. Dr. Forrest identified 28 separate injuries. In his report, 
the Doctor reported, ``there was scarcely an area of his body that 
could be touched without causing pain.''
  Mr. Speaker, the beating suffered by this 68-year-old man is just one 
example of the types of abuses suffered by the Sikhs of Punjab, the 
Muslims of Kashmir, the Christians of Nagaland, and others. Young men 
are picked up by security forces and disappear forever. Young women are 
gang-raped. Thousands are tortured.
  A prominent Sikh human rights activist, Jaswant Singh Khalra was 
arrested 10 months ago and has not been seen since. Despite the change 
in governments, his whereabouts are completely unknown. Many believe 
that he is being tortured in one of the many prisons in Punjab. These 
abuses happened under the Rao government. They are continuing under the 
new government. And they will continue to happen until the United 
States and other governments around the world take a strong stand 
against them.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the report from the Medical 
Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture be included in the Record 
at the conclusion of my remarks.
  I urge all of my colleagues who opposed my amendment to freeze our 
aid to India to pay close attention to the reports of human rights 
abuses that continue to flow out of India and really think hard about 
their position on this issue. India is not going to end its wide-scale 
abuses until we take a very firm stand and send a very strong message 
that they will not be tolerated.

               Medical Report on Dr. Jagjit Singh Chohal

                  (By Dr. D.M. Forrest, MB ChB, FRCS.)

       I am a retired Consultant Surgeon. Until the end of 1987 I 
     held Consultant appointments at three London Teaching 
     Hospitals,

[[Page E1301]]

     where my clinical duties included the diagnosis and treatment 
     of many forms of trauma and deliberate abuse. During my 
     consultant career I served as an examiner for the Diploma of 
     Child Health at the Royal College of Physicians, and was 
     President of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons, 
     the Society for Research into Hydrocephalus, and the 
     Paediatric Section of the Royal Society of Medicine.
       Since my retirement, I have devoted myself to the 
     documentation and management of torture survivors and have 
     studied the patterns of abuse currently practiced in many 
     countries. I have written and lectured extensively on the 
     subject of torture. I have edited and partly written 
     ``Glimpses of Hell: Reports on Torture Worldwide,'' a 
     textbook on torture. I have made a special study of Sikhs 
     from the Punjab and have published a paper on the subject in 
     the ``Lancet.''
       I examined Dr. Jagjit Singh Choha at the Medical Foundation 
     on 8:7:96.
       The following is his history as related to me.


                                History

       He told me that he came to live in the UK 17 years ago, 
     having retired from medical practice in a private clinic in 
     India. On 6:7:96 he set out for a holiday in Thailand, flying 
     on Thai Airways, flight 915. After eating a vegetarian meal 
     on the first leg of the journey, he suffered chest and 
     stomach pains. Fearing that the was suffering a heart attack, 
     he alerted the crew. A doctor sitting next to him advised 
     getting off the plane at the scheduled stop in Delhi. 
     Arrangements were made for an ambulance to take him to 
     hospital. On landing he was taken to the medical room, but 
     just before he was taken to the ambulance in a wheelchair, 
     about 20 plainclothes officers burst in and began to abuse 
     and threaten him verbally. They pulled off his turban and 
     shoes but not his other clothes and commenced beating him 
     with fists, slaps and kicks and whipping with a leather belt 
     about the head, back of the neck, limbs and lower trunk. They 
     pulled his hair and beard, pulled him along the rough 
     concrete floor, twisted his arms and ankles, concentrating on 
     the left ankle when they learned that it had recently been 
     fractured, and squeezed his testicles. The assault lasted 
     about ten minutes and then his wrists were tied behind his 
     back and he was bundled onto the plane which had delayed take 
     off for half an hour waiting for him. After the two hour 
     journey to Bangkok he was taken to the immigration Department 
     and left for eighteen hours in a room with about 30 detained 
     immigrants with no facilities and no medical attention. He 
     was put on the next Thai Airline flight to Heathrow.


                              past history

       He claimed to be healthy and active for his age, though 
     aware of the possibility of hypertension and a heart attack. 
     He took medication to avert this. He practised Yoga every day 
     and was supple and physically active. He suffered amputation 
     of the right hand many years ago and wears an artificial 
     hand. Four months ago he suffered a fracture of the left 
     fibula at the ankle, treated at the Chelsea and Westminster 
     Hospital.


                             on examination

       I examined him about eight hours after he landed. He had 
     had no sleep since leaving Heathrow two days previously. He 
     was in some distress and moved with great difficulty, having 
     trouble climbing stairs and in removing his vest.
       There was scarcely an area of his body that could be 
     touched without causing pain.
       Over the right temple there was an area of scalp 7x7cm that 
     was reddened, with boggy swelling.
       There were similar areas 7x7cm on the left temple and, in 
     front of this, 6x2cm at the left hairline.
       There was swelling and tenderness of the skin at the back 
     of the neck.
       There was diffuse reddening and tenderness on the chin 
     under the beard.
       There were faint contusions (bruises) on the tip of the 
     right shoulder and point of the right elbow.
       On the left upper arm, just above the elbow there was a 
     pair of very sharply and vividly demarcated red purple 
     parallel contusions 5x1cm and 2x1cm 3cm apart, lesser 
     surrounding bruising (a ``tramline'' bruise).
       There were three well defined circular contusions 1.5cm in 
     diameter on the lateral aspect of the left wrist, each over a 
     bony prominence.
       There was a small bruise on the middle of the left forearm.
       There was a vertical abrasion 5cm long on the back of the 
     left wrist and a similar one 6cm long on the back of the 
     forearm just below the elbow.
       There was a small abrasion on the right forearm just above 
     the prosthesis.
       There were no bruises on the trunk, but the ribs were 
     tender and there was pain on compression of the chest.
       There was tenderness, swelling and slight bruising on the 
     outer aspect of the left thigh.
       There was tenderness and diffuse bruising on the other 
     aspect of the right thigh just above the knee.
       Both patellae were bruised, swollen and tender.
       There was a bruise 4x3cm on the inner aspect of the left 
     shin 10cm below the knee and a similar one 4x7cm on the inner 
     aspect of the right shin 25cm below the knee.
       All movements of the neck and spine were limited by pain.
       The shoulders were tender and he was unable to raise the 
     arms above the horizontal. Rotation, particularly internal 
     rotation was grossly limited by pain.
       Flexion of both knees was limited by pain.
       Both ankles were swollen and extremely tender. All 
     movements were limited, especially twisting of the left 
     ankle.


                             interpretation

       He attributes all his pain and bruising to a beating at 
     Delhi airport.
       The reddening and swelling in the scalp was due to punches 
     and pulling of the hair, and that on the chin to pulling of 
     the beard. They are consistent with this.
       He believes that the ``tramline'' bruise on the left arm 
     was the result of a blow from a leather belt. The appearance 
     is absolutely typical of a lesion inflicted with a stiff, 
     flat weapon approximately 3cm wide.
       A leather belt would fit this description. It is not in a 
     position to have been caused by ropes binding him.
       The abrasions on the forearm below the elbow and on the 
     back of the wrist are attributed to being dragged across a 
     rough concrete floor. They are of a nature and distribution 
     to fit in with this explanation.
       He believes that the pain and stiffness of the shoulder and 
     ankle joints resulted from the deliberate twisting as well as 
     the beating. The treatment he describes would account for 
     this.


                                opinion

       If it is true that this elderly man was previously fit and 
     able to practice yoga, then his present condition must 
     indicate a number of very severe injuries.
       All the numerous bruises are recent, showing no signs of 
     yellowing. They appear to be contemporaneous and the most 
     likely dating for all of them is within a very few days.
       The lack of bruising on the trunk would be satisfactorily 
     explained by his statement that his clothing, including a 
     substantial jacket, were not removed. The tenderness of the 
     ribs indicates severe injury such as would be caused by 
     kicking.
       He has severe limitation of movement, especially of the 
     neck, spine, shoulders, knees and ankles. This is consistent 
     with his story of beating and twisting of the limbs. No 
     routine medical or rheumatic disease would satisfactorily 
     explain the findings.
       In my opinion, the medical findings amply support Dr. 
     Chohan's account of his treatment at Delhi airport, and no 
     other reasonable single explanation would cover all his 
     lesions.

                          ____________________