Srinagar: The arrest by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of Kashmir’s leading human rights activist Khurram Parvez has evoked global condemnation with voices growing shriller for his release.
The 44-year old rights activist, Khurram Parvez was arrested by NIA on Monday after the agency raided his residence in Sonwar in Srinagar and his office in Amirakadal in the city.
The arrest memo handed over to Khurram's family by NIA states: "The case (RC-30/2021/NIA/DLI), dated November 6, 2021, was registered under Sections 120B, 121 and 121A of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 17, 18, 18B, 38 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Khurram was arrested this evening at 5:55 pm from Church Lane (Srinagar) by the agency's Superintendent of Police G. Siva Vikram."
The agency had last year raided several places in the valley and seized bank details and other documents of Khurram for investigation, claiming that many organisations and individuals in the valley were receiving donations from unknown sources which were later being used for military activities.
Khurram, who is the recipient of the Rafto Foundation Award in 2017, is the coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and Chairman of the Board of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD).
Global rights bodies and activists are demanding the release of Khurram.
Also Read: Jammu Kashmir: NIA detains human rights activist Khurram Pervez
Ahsan Untoo, Chairman of International Forum for Justice and Human Rights, told ETV Bharat that the Khurram has been arrested for raising voice of victims of rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior journalist Anuradha Bhasin told ETV Bharat that Khurram is being targeted for his work.
Mary Lawlor, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, said in a tweet: “I’m hearing disturbing reports that Khurram Parvez was arrested today [Monday] in Kashmir and is at risk of being charged by authorities in India with terrorism-related crimes. He’s not a terrorist, he’s a human rights defender.”
The Rafto Foundation, a body working for the global promotion of human rights, in a statement, appealed to India to “immediately release Khurram Parvez.
“We observe with regret that the Indian government intimidates citizens working to secure the values and norms enshrined both in the Constitution of India and in international treaties ratified by the government itself. We appeal to Indian authorities to respect Mr. Parvez’s habeas corpus rights and release him from detention without delay,” Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt, Director of the Rafto Foundation, said in a statement.
“The work of Parvez and JKCCS to document human rights violations in Kashmir under very difficult circumstances has received high praise from international legal experts. JKCCS and Khurram Parvez have consistently espoused non-violence and acted impeccably as human rights defenders to earn the highest reputation both within Kashmir and from international institutions,” the statement added.
“The allegations made in the arrest memo of the NIA appear wholly implausible to us. We have worked closely with Parvez and JKCCS for four years, discussing all aspects of their situation. Their denouncement of political violence has been vehement and absolute whenever the subject of other actors perpetrating such acts came up,” the Rafto statement said.
David Kaye, a former UN Special Rapporteur for freedom of expression, tweeted, “If, as reported, Khurram Parvez has been arrested by India's ‘counter-terrorism’ NIA, it's yet another extraordinary abuse in Kashmir.”
Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture called for Parvez’s immediate release, saying that they were “deeply concerned about the high risk of torture while in custody.”
Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia Director for Human Rights Watch said: “At a time when Kashmiris are protesting wrongful killings and other abuses, Indian authorities should be working with human rights activists to address concerns instead of arresting them,” she said. “We have repeatedly said that accountability for human rights violations is the key to ending the cycle of violence.”
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