Remembering Jalil Andrabi

Trigger Warning: Custodial death and torture.

We have spent the last week reading up on the work done by Kashmiri lawyer Jalil Andrabi for which he gave his life, a week ago, in March, 1996. At the end of this week’s reading we echo Herodotus: “Of all men’s miseries the bitterest is this, to know so much and to have control over nothing.”

On 27 March, 1996 the decomposed body of Jalil Andrabi was found in the Jhelum river. His hands were tied up, his face was mutilated, he had gunshot injuries and multiple bruises all over his body. He had been picked up by Badgam’s 35 Rashtriya Rifles Unit of the Indian Army on March 8, 1996. The autopsy report said that Andrabi had probably been killed some 14 days earlier. He was scheduled to testify before the United Nations on Mach 18, 1996.

Artwork Jalil Andrabi

Jalil Andrabi, a 36-year-old civil rights lawyer, married and with three young children, fought to document cases of arbitrary arrests and detention, custodial killings and “disappearances”. In January 1996 Andrabi told newsmen that he knew that he was on the government hit list since attending the Commission in Geneva the year before. Shortly before his death, Andrabi attended a conference in New Delhi at which he held state authorities responsible for human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. In 1995, he challenged the Governor’s powers of lodging Kashmiri detainees in jails outside the territorial jurisdiction of the state High Court. Later that year, he addressed a session of the UN sub-commission on Human Rights at Geneva. 

In the evening of 8 March, Jalil Andrabi was reportedly taken from his car by personnel of the 35 Rashtriya Rifles unit stationed at Badgam as he was driving home with his family.  Jalil Andrabi’s wife Rifat who was present during the incident, attempted to file a First Information Report (FIR) in Sadar police station naming army personnel responsible for the abduction, but was refused.

On 27 March, the decomposed body of Jalil Andrabi was found in the Jhelum river.

“He fought for the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to security” said Rifat Andrabi about her husband Jalil Andrabi.

Letter dated 96/03/29 from the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Office at Geneva addressed to the Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights

We have compiled the following readings for anyone interested in knowing more:

Disclaimer

The author(s) of every article and piece of content appearing within this website is/are solely responsible for the content thereof; all views, thoughts and opinions expressed in all content published on this site belong solely to the author of the article and shall not constitute or be deemed to constitute any representation by JKLPP, Kashmir Reading Room, the author's employer, organisation, committee or other group or individual, in that the text and information presented therein are correct or sufficient to support the conclusions reached.

Comment on this Post