Fri 16 June 2023:
New Delhi: Calling for the immediate release of Kashmiri human rights activist, Khurram Parvez, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) described his detention “arbitrary” and appealed to the Indian authorities to provide him with an “enforceable right to compensation and other reparations”.
Parvez, who is associated with various civil society organisations in Kashmir, has been under detention since November 2021. He was arrested on November 22 that year following 14-hour raids carried out at his house and other properties linked to him by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He is facing charges of criminal conspiracy, terrorism, and is also booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA].
INDIA ARRESTS PROMINENT KASHMIR RIGHTS ACTIVIST UNDER TERROR LAW
The UN body on arbitrary detention said it is seriously concerned about “the chilling effects of Parvez’s arrest and prolonged detention on civil society, human rights defenders, and journalists in India”. It said the detention of Parvez is in violation of various provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The WGAD determined that the authorities failed to establish a legal basis for Mr. Parvez’s detention (Category I); that his detention stemmed from his ‘legitimate exercise of freedom of opinion, expression and association’ (Category II); that the ‘violations of Mr. Parvez’s right to a fair trial are of such gravity as to give his detention an arbitrary character’ (Category III); and that he was deprived of his liberty on ‘discriminatory grounds, owing to his status as a human rights defender and on the basis of his political or other opinion (Category V),” the statement from the UN body said.
UN CALLS FOR RELEASE OF KASHMIR RIGHTS DEFENDER KHURRAM PARVEZ
The WGAD is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate alleged cases of arbitrary detention. It looks into individual complaints and adopts opinions on whether the detention of a particular individual is considered to be arbitrary. The current WGAD opinion, issued on June 5, was in response to a complaint filed jointly by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), CIVICUS, FORUM-ASIA, and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) to the UN body on behalf of Parvez on November 22, 2022. Each of these rights organisations welcomed WGAD’s opinion and reiterated their calls for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Khurram Parvez and all other human rights defenders currently in prison in India, and for all charges to be dropped.
Gerald Staberock of OMCT said, “The arbitrary and unjust detention of Khurram Parvez is not an isolated incident but the result of India’s relentless attacks on those who expose the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government’s discriminatory and abusive policies. India must reverse its politics of silencing dissent and guarantee the right to defend human rights in the country.”
Concurring with Staberock, Alice Mogwe of FIDH said, “The UN ruling on Khurram Parvez’s case authoritatively confirms that his detention is an act of reprisal for his human rights work, and an attempt to silence him and Kashmiri civil society as a whole. The Indian authorities must implement the UN’s recommendations and immediately release Khurram.”
Over the years, Parvez has been associated with several rights organisations, including the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), FIDH, among others.
-The WIre
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