Patrick Malluzzo - India

Update: June 2008

FTI has appointed new lawyers in India who will handle Patrick's appeal, and we are working closely with pro bono counsel Joe Stone of Doughty Street Chambers and Priya Patel of Sabir Selby LLP to finalise the grounds of appeal. FTI lawyer Saima Hirji visited the lawyers in India in late May, and they will visit Patrick in Rajasthan this week.
We are hopeful that the appeal can be heard in July, when the courts return from the monsoon recess. We are confident that a fair trial will secure Patrick's acquittal and return home to his family. Thanks to all those who have supported our fundraising efforts to cover his legal costs in India, especially Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP.
Watch this page for further updates.
 

Patrick Malluzzo is a 30 year-old British national. He grew up in Kent and went to college there. Like many other young Britons, he spent his early 20s backpacking, travelling to South America and Asia. In 2003, he planned a final trip to India and with the intention of returning to the UK to settle down with his girlfriend and join the army. Patrick has no history of any involvement in criminal activity. He had previously worked as a carpenter and at an investment bank in London.

Patrick travelled to India in October 2003 and attended the wedding of British friends. He then set off to do some independent travel. He met up with a prior acquaintance, another backpacker, J, who invited him to come on a tour to Malai in Himachal Pradesh. They both went to Manali where they stayed for a few days. As it was low season Patrick decided to leave as nothing much was happening and agreed to meet J in Delhi a short while later. They met up in Delhi and Patrick indicated to J that he would travel to Goa with him, although he had not made a firm decision.

J booked two tickets to Goa via Mumbai. Patrick then decided not to go to Goa with J but instead to see more of Rajastan and meet J in Goa later. As Patrick wanted to travel light he asked J to take with him a bag of dirty washing which also contained a prescription in his name and a photocopy of his passport. J left to catch the train and Patrick remained in the hotel.

Patrick then received a call from J stating that he had lost the bags and his money. After placing the bags on the train, he had jumped off to get some food for the journey, and the train had left without him.

Train staff found 3 bags on/under the seats where J and Patrick had reservations, after the train left Delhi . They handed the bags to Kota Police who upon examining them found one bag to contain clothes and a large quantity of cannabis resin, a prohibited drug. The second bag contained Patrick’s dirty clothes, his prescription for anti-malaria medication and the photocopy of his passport. The third bag contained clothes.

At some point in the next two months, a warrant was issued for both Patrick and J. In the meantime, Patrick and J went on to Goa and then parted ways. Patrick flew out of India to Sri Lanka to watch the cricket with his uncle. He then returned to India to meet up with friends and finish his travels before heading to Thailand to meet up with this girlfriend.

Arrest in Mumbai

On his way to the airport on the 30th of January, 2004, Patrick sent a text to his parents saying he was on his way to Thailand and would text them upon arrival. However, he was arrested at Mumbai airport and charged under Sections 8/20 and 8/29 of the Possession of Dangerous and Psychotropic Drugs 1985.

He was taken into the custody of the Mumbai police, brought before the Chief Magistrates’ Court in Mumbai and remanded to appear three days later. However, he did not appear in court. He was taken into the custody of the Kota Railway Police and taken back to Rajasthan where he suffered severe torture and mistreatment for two weeks until he was located by the British Consulate. His parents did not know what had happened to him and were extremely distressed.

Tortured while at the Ajmeer Police Camp
During this period Patrick was not told why he had been arrested, and was not told his rights. He was beaten and tortured (physically and mentally). He was slapped in the face, punched and kicked repeatedly to his body and genitals, flogged on his hands, feet, legs and backside with bamboo sticks. He was also flogged with pieces of hard rubber across his body for hours at a time. He was stripped naked and shackled to a chair while cigarettes were used to burn him and pliers were used on his genitals. He was deprived of sleep for days at a time and cold water thrown on him when he got time to sleep.

When taken to a doctor for mandatory medical checks, he was warned by the police not to say anything about his treatment. When he tried to show his injuries, he was ordered to keep his clothes on. During this period he was also dragged around Northern India in shackles. On one of these journeys, which lasted approximately 30 hours, he spent the entire time in the back of a jeep on the floor in a crouched position. When he attempted to stretch his limbs he was slapped. He could not feel his legs for many days after.

The police brought witnesses before him and none of them recognised him yet they had to sign pre-prepared documents to say they did. His possessions were taken from him and not returned, including the ring with which he had intended to propose to his girlfriend.

He was repeatedly told he would be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison. He was accused of drug trafficking on all his travels since 1998, spying, questioned in relation to MI5/M16 CIA, Mossad and Interpol. He was also accused of arms and gun running, terrorist activities of Muslim groups such as Al Qada and because his mother is Irish of being a member of the IRA exchanging arms and training for drugs to Kashmiri terrorists. He was forced to write numerous confessions, which he was made to sign with back and forward dates. He also had to sign documents in Hindi which he did not understand and which had many blank pages. He was forced to read a confession on television and details of his confession were given to the press and published. As Patrick wrote in a letter to his parents detailing the horrors of his ordeal; “How on earth will I receive a fair trial now?”

Trial, delays and the shock conviction

His fears were well-founded. The proceedings were held in Hindi despite an application being made to the Court for the case to be heard in English and Patrick not understanding the language. Patrick was advised to say nothing. Even though the false confessions were thrown out of court, Patrick was still found guilty under Section 8/20 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 rupees. He is now serving his sentence in Kota Jail.

The High Court had ordered that the trial be completed in 6 months, however despite this ruling the Kota Upper session Court allowed the case to run for some 15 months. There were lengthy delays in the production of witnesses and part-way through the trial there was an extended hiatus while a replacement judge was sought. There was shock in the courtroom when Patrick was pronounced guilty by the judge.

Current Situation

Patrick is kept in a cell with 54 other inmates. They sleep head-to-toe on the stone floor. He is in poor health and has been to hospital a number of times. He has contracted malaria and has rat bites on his body. He is also currently receiving treatment for depression due to his ordeal and treatment for chronic urinary tract infections.
He paints, reads and writes letters to his family. While in prison, he befriended a priest imprisoned for his beliefs. This man now makes a 16-hour round trip every week to visit Patrick and bring him supplies.

Appeal

Since Patrick’s family visited us in March, we have secured the assistance of expert Counsel Joe Stone, of Doughty Street Chambers, assisted by Priya Patel of Sabir Selby LLP. We are deeply grateful that their services are being provided on a pro bono basis as the Malluzzo family have already incurred considerable legal expenses and will have to sell their home to fund Patrick’s appeal.

We are in the process of re-submitting an application for an appeal on the grounds that Patrick did not receive a fair trial:

* Delay: The Kota Court ignored the High Court order that the case be completed within a six-month time period. Had this happened, Patrick could have lodged his appeal some time ago. There have also been considerable delays in having his file registered so an application for appeal may be made.

* Crucial evidence overlooked: Throughout their investigation, the police overlooked vital evidence, such as the evidence of other passengers on the train as to who had boarded with the bags, and the train company’s records. This would have shown who was in control of the bags when they were left in the carriage. Moreover, the police failed to secure any DNA or fingerprint evidence in relation to the drugs seized.

* Severance of the trials of Patrick and J: This prevented crucial evidence from being produced at trial.

* No adequate interpreter at the trial: This is contrary to international human rights law, which is recognised by India.

The appeal needs to take place as a matter of urgency. Patrick has already spent five years in abject conditions for a crime he did not commit.


Fair Trials Abroad has written to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) asking them to do what they can to have the appeal dealt with as a high priority. While the FCO has a general policy that it cannot intervene in the legal system of another country, it retains a discretion to do so where a British national is not treated in accordance with international standards, and where that treatment is worse than that experienced by locals. It is our view that Patrick’s treatment fulfils both these criteria.


His torture and the conduct of his trial are clearly contrary to both international human rights and the law of .India. Moreover, his treatment has clearly been different to that usually experienced by locals, both because of the extraordinary delay in the conduct of his trial, and because he was singled out on the basis of his British nationality to be paraded on local television as guilty before his trial had commenced.