Human rights activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj released on bail

New Delhi: Prominent Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj were released from a New Delhi jail on bail late Wednesday after spending years in custody in a case investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). However, both remain subject to strict court-imposed conditions as legal proceedings continue.

Parvez, coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), was arrested in 2021, while Mehraj, a freelance journalist and researcher associated with the organisation, was arrested in 2023. They have been charged under anti-terror laws for allegedly funding terrorism and promoting a separatist agenda, allegations both have denied.

A trial court granted them bail last week, but the NIA challenged the order. While declining to stay their release, the Delhi High Court imposed additional restrictions, including barring them from travelling to Kashmir and requiring them to remain in Delhi, where the trial is being conducted.

The JKCCS has long documented alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, including cases of torture, extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. International rights organisations and UN bodies have repeatedly called for the release of Parvez and Mehraj, arguing that their arrests were linked to their human rights and journalistic work.

Following their release, several global rights groups renewed demands for the charges against the two men to be dropped, describing the case as politically motivated.