Srinagar: On Wednesday, as Kashmiri Human Rights defender Khurram Parvez completes thirty days in the National investigation of India Jail, a Twitter storm was started by various human rights organizations calling on the Government of India to release the activist on an immediate basis.
#India: UN experts urge authorities to stop targeting Kashmiri rights defender #KhurramParvez and release him immediately.
"We regret that the Government continues to use #UAPA to restrict fundamental freedoms in Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir".
👉 https://t.co/yd9zH7BTEm pic.twitter.com/T5VRJW0Okp
— UN Special Procedures (@UN_SPExperts) December 22, 2021
The campaign was initially started by Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) for two days- December 21, and 22, urging the GoI for Parvez’s release.
#FreeKhurramParvez! Parvez’s human rights work has been important to question widespread impunity and lack of accountability in Jammu and Kashmir. His arrest censors critical voices and crucial documentation work. India must release him, immediately and unconditionally. pic.twitter.com/DReXsS2gj6
— Rafto Foundation (@RaftoFoundation) December 22, 2021
However, a number of organizations later joined in, seeking the activist’s immediate release.
An extraordinary human rights activist who has relentless documented the violation of human rights in Kashmir
Including mass graves –
A heroic human – ⬇️
Pass it around – https://t.co/n6X95zTUCK— John Cusack (@johncusack) December 22, 2021
Pertinently, on November 22, sleuths of the Indian probe agency NIA raided Parvez’s residence and subsequently arrested him.
UN Special Rapporteurs urged the Indian authorities to stop “targeting” Parvez, who completed one month in prison today.
Press Release: We are concerned that 1 month after Mr. Parvez’s arrest, he is still deprived of liberty in what appears to be a new incident of retaliation for his legitimate activities as a Human Rights Defender.https://t.co/YuOnaeyFwI
— Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs (@MaryLawlorhrds) December 22, 2021
“Parvez has worked extensively to document serious human rights violations, including enforced disappearances and unlawful killings in Kashmir. In his search for accountability, Parvez has been the victim of a number of incidents of reprisals reportedly for sharing this information with the United Nations, as documented in various reports of the Secretary-General and communications from UN special procedures mandate holders,” UN said in its latest statement.
“We are concerned that one month after Parvez’s arrest, he is still deprived of liberty in what appears to be a new incident of retaliation for his legitimate activities as a human rights defender and because he has spoken out about violations,” it said.
The statement added, “in view of this context of previous reprisals, we call on the Indian authorities to immediately release him and ensure his rights to liberty and security.”
Parvez, who was arrested on 22 November 2021 on charges related to conspiracy and militancy under Indian counter-terrorism legislation — the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) — is presently detained at the Rohini Jail Complex, one of the three most overcrowded and unsanitary prisons in the country, where there is a clear and immediate risk to his health and safety, in particular from COVID, the statement added.
Join us for a Twitter Storm on 22nd and 23rd December to call upon the Indian government for #Khurram's immediate and unconditional release.
Use #FreeKhurramParvez to amplify the call!
Timings are listed on the poster below. pic.twitter.com/Jh0aSmwmmo
— AFAD (@AFAD_Updates) December 20, 2021
The amendment introduced in July 2019 to the UAPA, allows any individual to be designated as a “terrorist”, bypassing the requirement to establish membership or association with banned groups.
This expansion of State agencies’ discretionary powers under the anti-terror law has resulted in a worrisome rise in the number of arrests across India – and especially in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, the statement added.
Hon. @Debbie_abrahams MP ,Chair of APPG for Kashmir and more than 28 British Parliamentarian wrote a joint letter to the the Indian High Commissioner to the UK expressing their concerns over human rights violations and the illegal detention of Khurram Pervez. pic.twitter.com/8BxxBcoRk3
— Fahim Kayani (@fahim_kayani) December 22, 2021
28 British Parliamentarian wrote a joint letter to the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom expressing their concerns over “human rights violations and the illegal detention of Khurram Pervez”.
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