Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urgently asks you to send a strong letter to the President of India to commute the death sentence of Dhananjoy Chatterjee! According to the existing Indian laws, only a presidential pardon can save Dhananjoy Chatterjee from imminent execution at the Alipore Central Jail.
On 22 July 2004, local newspapers reported that the President of India called for a report from the Administration about why the execution of death penalty inflicted upon Dhananjoy Chatterjee has been delayed for 10 years after the appeal of Dhananjoy Chatterjee stood rejected by the Supreme Court of India. This action taken by the President shows that he is searching for ways to allow a mercy petition of Dhananjoy Chatterjee.
This is a high time for the international community to go on making strong appeals to the President of India so that a thought process of the President is not intercepted by other politicians like Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya, the Chief Minister of West Bengal who made open statement in favor of execution. Previously, Dhananjoy Chaterjee’s execution was scheduled for 25 June 2004, however on June 17 his wife and mother filed a mercy petition to the President of India, Mr. A P J Kalam. President of India is now considering the mercy petition, and his execution was temporarily delayed until further notification.
In an earlier case, known as Chandra Nath Banik’s case, the death penalty was called off because the convict had undergone enough agony after being convicted for death penalty, and there has been a long delay in execution of the sentence. In the present case, 13 years have passed since the first sentence, and since then the convict has been in solitary confinement, a horrendous form of punishment that for a prolonged period such as this violates the provisions of the Convention against Torture. The rights guaranteed under the Constitution cannot be applied selectively, and neither can they be randomly denied, including the right to life itself. We would like to draw your kind attention on the judgment passed by the Supreme Court of India in T.V. Vathe Swaram vs State of Tamilnadu that “while sentence of death prolonged beyond 2 yearsaccused is entitled to claim fundamental rights. So capital punishment is quashed”.
Please phone call or send a letter/fax/email to the President of India and demand him to allow a mercy petition of Dhananjoy Chatterjee. AHRC suggests you to intervene into this case as quickly as possible as he is still facing grave danger of execution near future. You can see the contact information of the President and sample letter at our previous Urgent Appeal regarding this case at: http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2004/715/
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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SAMPLE LETTER
