Mr. Sishir Dey

Advocate and Human Rights Defender

Assam

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 15^th December regarding the intimidation, death threat and false case filed against lawyer and human rights defender Mr. Sishir Dey. He is a member of various human rights organisations and platforms such as Barak Human Rights Protection Committee where he has documented and made legal intervention in cases of human rights violations in Karimganj district. He is the honorary secretary of the district committee of Assam Mojuri Sramik Union working towards protection of labour rights. He also works against religious violence through a platform called Forum for Social Harmony in Assam.

IMr. Dey had posted a public ‘status’ on his Facebook wall on December 8, 2017 in Bengali. Its English translation is "Down with the Ram devotee apes, their Sanghi brutal ideas and Hindu-terrorism". Following his post on Facebook, abusive and threatening comments started to pour in the comment section of his post. They accused him of hurting their religious sentiments and threatened him to be hanged, murdered and to burn his house etc.

On December 10, 2017, a complaint was filed against him in the Karimganj Police Station by Mr. Debdulal Das and Mr. Pankaj Das, both identifying themselves as the President and Vice-President of Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha. The police registered the case based on their complaint. On December 15, 2017, the court granted Mr. Dey interim anticipatory Bail for Rs. 20,000 with one surety till the final hearing. Mr. Dey is at risk of getting physically assaulted and even killed by the fundamentalists who have issued threats to him. He is now living under constant fear for his wife, son, and his own physical and mental safety.

HRDA pleads before the honorable commission to undertake an immediate, independent, thorough, transparent, effective, and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned incident of intimidation, threat to life, and registration of false cases against Mr. Sishir Dey.