Indian repression: UN experts call for release of Kashmiri rights activist

Describe Khurram Parvez’s arrest as an attempt to obstruct his human rights activism

ISLAMABAD: A group of United Nations experts on Wednesday called on India to immediately release human rights defender Khurram Parvez, who was arrested last month for his alleged ‘activities against the public order’.

Parvez is the coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCSS), and the chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD).



“Parvez is a well-known and outspoken human rights defender, who has had a longstanding and positive engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms,” said a statement by the Foreign Office quoting UN experts.

“His continued detention following his arrest just a few days before his participation in the UN Human Rights Council, suggests a deliberate attempt to obstruct his legitimate human rights activism,” the statement added.

On September 14, Parvez was on his way to Geneva to attend the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council when he was prevented from travelilng out of India by airport authorities in New Delhi.

He was then detained on September 16 under sections 107 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Parvez was released on September 20 and detained again the same day. He remains in preventive detention, under the highly controversial Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act.

The UN experts conveyed their concerns to India but the official information received so far does not provide clear details on the exact nature of the charges against Parvez. The accusations seem to rely mainly on vague claims about his alleged ‘anti-India’ activities, aimed at disrupting the public order.

The experts said they are concerned at the use of the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act against Parvez. This act permits administrative detention without judicial intervention for up to two years.

They said they have received allegations that this law is often being arbitrarily applied to target human rights defenders. The UN experts noted with alarm the lack of clarity as to why the Indian authorities have deemed it necessary to address this case outside the country’s ordinary laws.



Meanwhile, Pakistan appreciated the UN activists call for releasing the Kashmiri activist. “Pakistan appreciated the demand by UN human rights mechanisms, to India to immediately release the Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez who was arrested on 14 September when he was to board a flight for Geneva to attend the 33rdsession of Human Rights Council. Pakistan also appreciates the continued focus by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the grave human rights violations, being perpetrated by Indian occupation forces, in Jammu & Kashmir,” the FO said in a statement.

On October 13, a petition challenging Parvez’s detention under the Public Safety Act was listed before the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, yet the case has only been listed for hearing until October 25.

In a democratic society, the open criticism of government is a legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression of every person, they said.

“We are seriously concerned that the arrest of Mr Parvez may represent a direct retaliation for his legitimate activities as a human rights defender and the exercise of his fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression and association,” the statement said.

The experts include the UN special rapporteur on situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst; the chair-rapporteur of the UN working group on arbitrary detention, Sètondji Adjovi; the UN special rapporteur on rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai, and the UN special rapporteur on promotion, protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye.

The UN Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are part of what it is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2016.