Article Summary: This is a letter by the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons to various UN working groups, special rapporteurs, and the UN voluntary fund for victims of torture, expressing grave concern on the likelihood of reprisal arising out of the seizure of confidential victim information during a recent NIA raid on APDP’s office. The letter also includes multiple pictures of the raid that took place. The letter requests urgent intervention by the UN.
Topics: attacks on human rights defenders, denial of access to justice, reprisal against victims, failure of the UN
Terms: fear of reprisal, National Investigation Agency (NIA), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Jammu and Kashmir Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Parveena Ahangar, harassment of human rights defenders, initimidation, warrantless search, warrantless seizure, criminalization of human rights work, Indian state disinformation
This communication describes in detail an October 28, 2020 raid by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on the offices of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP). This communication describes the confidential and sensitive information on victims of human rights violations seized by Indian forces, including as follows: "This documentation contains the names, identifying details, contact details and addresses of victims, victim families and witnesses. The documentation comprises human rights violations by security forces, police and other State actors. In many testimonies, the names or other identifying details of the security personnel who have perpetrated the human rights violations is mentioned. The documentation includes cases where victims continue to be in the custody of the State, cases where victims and their families are unable to file official complaints due to threat to their life and liberty, and cases where the victims or their families live in areas that are under the control of the security forces that have committed the human rights abuses. The narratives of human rights violations have been shared with APDP on the condition that identifying details will be protected from the State, and APDP has maintained confidentiality. This information is now in the hands of the NIA, and there is a grave and imminent likelihood that the same may be accessed by other agencies, and/or lead to adverse consequences and reprisal against victims. The seizure of such sensitive information is bound to hinder the access to justice of these victims of human rights violations."
The communication describes the Indian Government's efforts to taint and criminalize the human rights work done by APDP (including thorugh UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture grants) and demands urgent intervention to protect human rights defenders, victims of human rights violations and the families of victims in Indian-Administered Kashmir.
October 2020
Originally published
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