The Special Rapporteur notes with concern further failures of law enforcement authorities to adequately register complaints made by human rights defenders who have been victims of attacks or harassment and to provide adequate protection measures for those at risk of violence as a result of their important work. On 26 April 2018, Mr. Lenin Raghuvanshi was violently assaulted and verbally abused by police while visiting a police station to enquire as to why no First Information Report (FIR) was filed after an attack on his brother. The police officers who assaulted him told him “you have created lots of trouble for police by filing cases against us”. When he tried to report this attack in a different police station, he was told simply to go home. Similarly, Mr. Okram Nutankumar experienced difficulties in registering an FIR after shots were fired at his house. In April 2018, human rights defender Ms. Rana Ayyub became the subject of a particularly serious smear campaign, as a result of which she received death threats. The allegations contained in the smear campaign were moreover repeated by at least one member of India’s ruling party. Despite filing a criminal complaint on 26 April 2018, it took 10 days for authorities to begin their investigation, while authorities failed to provide her any protection during the interim. In another instance, Mr. Sunil Kumar received death threats outside Agra Court, after testifying in a case related to human trafficking. Despite providing police with information about the threats he received, including a description of the harassers, no complaint was filed. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to ensure that human rights defenders are provided with adequate protection against the risks they face as a result of their peaceful and legitimate work and remind the State that it bears a responsibility to ensure the safety of human rights defenders as they continue their work.
Above mentioned in report of Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders at point number of 351:
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