Imphal: The Civil Society Coalition for Human Rights in Manipur and the United Nations (CSCHR) have condemned the arrest of its member and well-known RTI activist, Advocate Wahengbam Joykumar, from his residence at Wangkhei Hijam Leirak, Imphal West, on Saturday night.
The two organisations said in a press handout that the arrest memo mentioned that he was nabbed in connection to the killing of a BJP functionary. The alleged killer, who is also an RTI activist, made the first call after the killing to Advocate Joykumar.
The alleged killer is Joykumar’s client. Joykumar had advised him to duly surrender to the police, which he did, according to a statement from Joykumar’s wife. The Advocate was remanded to police custody until February 2.
It was stated that Advocate Joykumar’s professional and lawful action of advising his client could not be construed as a criminal conspiracy and that he should be released immediately. As a well-known human rights defender, who contributed substantially to the public issues of Manipur, he should be treated with due respect and honour, it was stated.
He should not be subjected to any form of mental or physical torture, or inhumane or degrading treatment while in custody, it was demanded.
