India: Judicial harassment against community rights and human rights defender Ibrahim Dafadar

The Observatory has been informed about the ongoing judicial harassment of Ibrahim Dafadar, a 32-year-old human rights defender from the village of Nawdapara, Murshidabad District, West Bengal State. Mr Dafadar is the Secretary of the local Amra Simantabasi committee. The Amra Simantabasi are resident-based committees representing the interests and defending the rights of the populations living in the areas near the border with Bangladesh. Over the past few years, Mr Dafadar has been engaged in the promotion of social development, the documentation of violations committed by the Border Security Force, and the exposure of local corrupt practices. These activities have made him a target of local politicians and their police associates.

On March 10, 2024, Mr Ibrahim Dafadar received a summons under Section 107 of the Indian Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) through the Bagdah police station, ordering him to appear before the Executive Magistrate of Bongaon District. Section 107 of the CrPC refers to the summoning powers of an Executive Magistrate in cases where there is a well-founded suspicion that a person “is likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity or to do any wrongful act that may probably occasion a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity”. Mr Dafadar is unaware of any act he may have committed that would constitute such an offence. He believes that the summons constitutes a retaliation for his human rights work, and that it is part of a plot between local politicians and police officers to implicate him in a fabricated criminal case.

On March 12, 2024, Mr Dafadar appeared before the Executive Magistrate of Bongaon District and was released after paying a bond of INR 1,000 (approx. EUR 11.10). On March 31, 2024, he submitted a complaint to the Superintendent of Police of Bongaon District, alleging an attempt to incriminate him in a trumped-up case. A similar complaint has been filed with the same Superintendent of Police by the residents of Nawdapara in the form of a memorandum signed by nearly 200 heads of family.

The use of summons under Section 107 of the CrPC is a well-known practice in West Bengal State to silence dissent and obstruct human rights work. Ahead of events of public interest – such as religious, social, or political events like administrative elections – it is common for both the lower judiciary and the police in the region to issue summons against human rights defenders and critics of local policies with the aim to intimidate them and force them into silence through judicial harassment. These practices openly contravene India's international obligations regarding freedom of expression and the protection of human rights defenders, and constitute an unacceptable curtailment of the legitimate work in defence of human rights.