This is a statement by Amnesty International demanding that the Indian government immediately halt its intensifying suppression of dissent, following a series of raids by counter-terrorism forces on the homes and premises of civil society groups, human rights defenders and journalists in Jammu and Kashmir region on Wednesday 28 October. According to a statement released by India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), the raids were conducted based on credible information’ that the organizations have been using funding from India and abroad ‘for secessionist and terrorist activities in J&K’, in contravention of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Foreign Contribution (Regulation)Act (FCRA), India’s primary anti-terror and foreign funding laws.
Topics: suppression of dissent, using anti-terror laws to suppress dissent, attacks on civil society and human rights defenders
Terms: October 2020 raids on Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids, October 2020 raids on Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), intimidation of human rights defenders, harrassment of civil society groups, violation of right to free expression, violation of right to free assembly, reprisals
“In a worrying pattern, the UAPA and the foreign funding law are being repeatedly and deliberately weaponized to intimidate, harass and restrict the ability of civil society groups from operating, in clear violation of their rights to freedom of expression and association.”
The raids come after Amnesty International India was forced to halt its work and let go of its employees in the country from 1 October 2020 after its bank accounts were frozen by the government, shortly after it released a Situation Update on human rights in Jammu & Kashmir.
Both UAPA and FCRA have been criticized by UN human rights experts for their overarching nature, which is used to criminalise religious minorities, political dissidents and human rights defenders. In October 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) Michelle Bachelet appealed to the government of India to review the FCRA and its compliance with international human rights norms, and regretted that it was being “used to deter or punish NGOs for human rights reporting”.
In September 2020, APDP submitted almost 40 testimonies of victims who were subjected to arbitrary detention and torture by security forces in Kashmir, to the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. On 5 August 2020, JKCCS published its bi-annual human rights review documenting the extrajudicial executions of at least 32 individuals and the impact of internet shutdowns in the region.
October 2020
Originally published
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