Stoke White Report: London-based private law firm claims war crimes in Indian-administered Kashmir, can London police take legal action against Indian Army?
No action has been taken so far on the request to the London Metropolitan Police for alleged human rights violations and war crimes in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, nor has the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defense or Ministry of Home Affairs responded. A response has been issued.
Recently, Stoke White International, a private law firm in London, has filed a complaint with the Metropolitan Police alleging war crimes, rape, court in Indian-administered Kashmir against other military and paramilitary officials, including the Indian Army chief. Has been asked to prosecute under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, a British law for murder and other acts of violence.
The Stoke White Law Firm alleges that Indian security forces, led by Indian Army Chief General Nirvana and Home Minister Amit Shah, are torturing, abducting and harassing human rights activists, journalists and civilians. She is being extrajudicially killed.
The Geneva Conventions Act 1957 is a law of the British Parliament that incorporates the provisions of the Geneva Conventions into British law. Experts say there is scope under the Geneva Conventions Act to prosecute those involved in war crimes, rape and other acts of violence in any part of the world in the UK, but there are "serious challenges".The courts and the police have jurisdiction over the UK, which means they can only prosecute crimes committed within the UK. However, war crimes are subject to universal jurisdiction under the Geneva Conventions Act of 1957, which makes this principle a very powerful method of justice.
The position of defense observers from India
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defense and Federal Ministry of Home Affairs have declined to comment on the report on human rights violations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir released by the Stoke White International Investigation Unit.
However, Brigadier Rahul Bhunsle (retd), a defense analyst at the New Delhi-based Security Risks Consultancy Group, said the Stoke White International report appeared to be a "sponsored" investigation and called into question the reputation of the Stoke White International law firm. Is.
Brigadier Bhunsle said Stoke White International's evidence was "suspicious" and "uncertain" and that its report would have the "opposite" effect in Indian government circles. "Nowadays, it is important to have a reliable source of information that needs to be taken into account," he said.
Major General AP Singh (retd), an Indian military analyst who has served in counter-insurgency operations in Indian-administered Kashmir, also agreed with Brigadier Bhunsle and disagreed with the Stoke White International report. The background, past events and Turkey's alleged links with Pakistan are questionable.
General AP Singh claimed that it "smelled like a Pakistani had written his report".
Rahul Bedi, a senior Indian journalist and defense analyst, says the 41-page Stoke White law firm's report will have no effect.
Very few people have taken note of this report on the incidents of violence in Kashmir and elsewhere in India. There was no echo or noise.
Rahul Bedi says that when he spoke to some of India's leading journalists / columnists / people associated with online news websites, he too thought that this report, like in the past, would have no effect. Earlier in the week, a small piece of news was published in the press, but after that there was no discussion and it was not mentioned in the news pages or in the institutions.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the editor-in-chief of an Indian news website claimed that Stoke White International had close ties with Turkish authorities and was probably acting on behalf of its close ally Pakistan. ۔
The website's editor-in-chief says: "Although they agree that British law allows investigations into human rights violations in other countries under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957, this is unlikely to happen in the current circumstances. Is.'
The editor of the news website, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, "This (report) alleges genocide and human rights violations by India in Kashmir, but is silent on cross-border terrorism in the state." Which has the patronage of Pakistan.
Pakistani analysts
Retired Lt. Gen. Ghulam Mustafa, while commenting on the report of Stoke White Law Firm, said that the various steps that Pakistan has been taking on Kashmir issue, especially since August 5, 2019, are all in the category of Pakistan's diplomacy. come.
'Pakistan has also put before the world various dossiers of the atrocities being perpetrated on our Muslim brothers in Kashmir, and because of them the international media is now drawn to this issue. Is.In today's world, diplomacy has become very widespread and this is the case that has just been filed in London, in which the Indian Army Chief has been nominated and told how the martyrdom of a young man The dossier was later prepared, detailing Indian forces and how ordinary Muslims were being persecuted by Kashmiris.
General Ghulam Mustafa said: "I am not a legislator so I cannot give a legal opinion, but I think that whenever it is a matter of 'la fair' (ie using legislation as a tactic of war). If it comes, at some stage Kashmiris will also want to tell the world, their educated people will have to fight their own case.
He said that Pakistan was repeatedly presenting its position on Kashmir to the world and now diplomatic efforts would have to be made more active, and Pakistan had always said that it would provide diplomatic and moral support to the Kashmiri brothers. The overall diplomatic staff of Pakistan in this regard will be very helpful in escalating the issue.
So I think this (filing a complaint against Indian officials in London) is a positive development for Kashmir. Now the educated Kashmiris themselves are coming forward to fight their case, adopting the method of educated people and making the world believe that not only weapons, guns and cannons, but also other weapons which the world can use. Can be made to believe in atrocities.
Retired General Mustafa said: "This is an effort and I think it is a very positive effort. This diplomatic effort will greatly benefit the cause of Kashmir in London, the capital of the world and an important center of world politics.
Opinion of Kashmiri jurist
Mirza Saib Baig is a Kashmiri lawyer. He is the first Kashmiri to receive the Kofi Annan-Mansfield and Oxford-Wydenfield-Hoffman Scholarships at Oxford University's Blotink School of Government. He says that under the traditional understanding of law, jurisdiction of a law is a manifestation of the sovereignty of a country.
"Universal jurisdiction is an interference in this traditional understanding, but it is nevertheless a principle of law that is recognized in many countries of the world. This scope serves as a principle of social conscience and, in practice, it faces serious challenges such as institutional limitations, foreign policy interests and political will.
He says there are currently more than 150 people globally against whom complaints have been filed under global jurisdiction in 20 countries. "While it is technically possible for anyone to file a complaint in a country with universal jurisdiction, such complaints are not always investigated by the relevant authorities."
Within the global community, there is a lack of clear and unequivocal consensus on the scope, application and nature of 'global jurisdiction' and its relation to territorial sovereignty. In addition, in the context of the United Kingdom, no action can be taken under the Geneva Conventions for war crimes and other offenses without prior permission from the Attorney General or the Director of Public Prosecution.
Failure to obtain the consent or permission of the legal authority before initiating any action for the police, he says, deprives the court of this universal jurisdiction or universal jurisdiction, and even if an accused is found guilty. If so, he has the right to have his sentence overturned.
In addition, Mirza Saib Baig questions whether it remains to be seen in the case of Kashmir whether universal jurisdiction will be used as a principle of universal justice or to serve the immediate economic interests of the British government. Will be used as a temporary tactic.
The position of the British Parliament
According to a 2010 analytical report by the British Parliament, the application of the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 is very limited in relation to serious international crimes. "The UK also has a duty under international law to prosecute or extradite suspects involved in war crimes or acts of violence anywhere in the world."According to the parliamentary report, "But such a process cannot begin with the mere application of someone.
In England and Wales, such cases require the consent of the Attorney General, but this consent is not currently required before an arrest warrant can be issued.
It has led to the issuance of arrest warrants for high-ranking foreign politicians, including former Israeli Foreign Minister Zipporah Livani, but requires the permission of the British Attorney General for a private prosecution of war crimes against them.
According to the report, "therefore there has been a debate in the UK as to whether the arrest warrant for such a private prosecution should be changed." Although the principle of universal jurisdiction is widely supported, there are many issues. And there are many obstacles to its practical application.
One of the key issues is the decision on global political jurisdiction, about which African countries object to the neutrality and objectivity of European states. And that's why the United Nations is reviewing the principle of universal jurisdiction. "
Report: 'India War Crimes in Kashmir'
The author of this report is Khalil Dewan, a London graduate lawyer. He is listed on his Twitter account for monitoring drone strikes and human rights and international conflict. They follow 1264 accounts till they file report and they have 2414 followers.
According to the report, Khalil Dewan heads the investigation department at the international law firm Stoke White. He holds LLB (Hons) and LLM degrees in International Human Rights Law. Studied human rights at the University of London's School for Oriental and African Studies.
Khalil Dewan has over a decade of experience investigating human rights abuses in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Mali and elsewhere. He has given a briefing on the Qatar-Gulf crisis on the public intelligence platform OSINT and also writes articles for Bellingcat, an online research website.
About Stoke White
The Stoke White Investigations or SWI-unit is an independent investigative unit within the Stoke White law firm.
Stoke White writes on its website that it is an international law firm that strives to achieve the best possible results for its clients through the acquisition of knowledge and justice by a case or subject matter expert.
The firm says the group of lawyers is the first to file such a case in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and successfully discuss policy changes to the European Community Association Agreement (ECAA). This agreement is known to Turkish citizens as the Ankara Agreement.
The company had asked the chief prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes in Syria.
The law firm is also fighting the case of a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, in the ICC on humanitarian grounds.
Doctor Sajjad Ameer