'Pattern Of Impunity In India': USCIRF Condemns 'Unjustified' Release Of 11 Convicts In Bilkis Bano Case
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has given a sharp response, criticising the early and "unjustified" release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case.
New Delhi: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) "strongly condemned the early and "unjustified" release of 11 convicts in Bilkis Bano case, calling it "part of a pattern of impunity in India for those engaged in violence against religious minorities."
On August 15, all the 11 convicts sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 case of Bilkis Bano's gang rape and murder of her seven family members during the communal riots walked out of the Godhra sub-jail after the BJP government in Gujarat allowed their release under its remission policy.
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USCIRF Vice Chair Abraham Cooper said, “USCIRF strongly condemns the early and unjustified release of 11 men sentenced to life in prison for raping a pregnant Muslim woman and committing murder against Muslim victims during the 2002 Gujarat Riots.”
In a sharp response, USCIRF Commissioner Stephen Schneck stated, “The failure to hold accountable perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat Riots who committed physical & sexual violence is a travesty of justice. It's part of a pattern of impunity in India for those engaged in violence against religious minorities.”
USCIRF Commissioner @StephenSchneck: “The failure to hold accountable perpetrators of the 2002 Gujarat Riots who committed physical & sexual violence is a travesty of justice. It's part of a pattern of impunity in India for those engaged in violence against religious minorities."
— USCIRF (@USCIRF) August 19, 2022
On March 3, 2002, Bilkis Bano's family was attacked by a mob at Randhikpur village in Limkheda taluka of Dahod district. Bilkis was five months pregnant at the time when she was gang raped and seven members of her family were killed during the riots triggered by the Godhra train burning incident.
According to news agency PTI, the Gujarat government released the 11 convicts after the Supreme Court directed it to consider their plea for relief under the state's 1992 remission policy.
A special CBI court in Mumbai had on January 21, 2008, sentenced to life imprisonment all the 11 accused in the case for the murder of seven family members of Bilkis Bano and her gang rape. Their conviction was later upheld by Bombay High Court.
These convicts served more than 15 years in prison after which one of them approached the Supreme Court with a plea for his premature release.
The apex court had directed the Gujarat government to look into the issue of remission of his sentence as per its 1992 policy on the basis of the date of his conviction. Thereafter, the state government formed a committee that took the decision to allow the release of all the convicts, PTI reported.
The Gujarat government's decision has invited sharp criticism from the opposition parties as well as women rights groups who have said the move was against the Centre's guidelines.
Release Of These Convicts Has Shaken My Faith In Justice: Bilkis Bano
Criticising the decision to let the convicts free, Bilkis Bano said that nobody enquired about her safety and well-being before taking “such a big and unjust decision”.
In a statement released by Bilkis’ lawyer Sobha on her behalf, the former said, “Two days ago, on August 15, 2022, the trauma of the past 20 years washed over me again when I heard that the 11 convicted men who devastated my family and my life, and took from me my three-year-old daughter, had walked free.”
“How can justice for any woman end like this?” “I trusted the highest courts in our land. I trusted the system, and I was learning slowly to live with my trauma. The release of these convicts has taken from me my peace and shaken my faith in justice,” Bilkis Bano said.
She appealed to the Gujarat government to “undo this harm” and give back her “right to live without fear and in peace”.
More On It: 'Trauma Of Past 20 Years Washed Over Me Again': Bilkis Bano On Release Of Convicts. Full Statement
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