India: Kashmiri rights activist arrested over ‘terror funding’
India’s counter-terrorism investigating agency arrested Khurram Parvez, one of the best known activists in Kashmir. He faces several charges, including terror funding.
India’s top anti-terror agency on Monday arrested prominent human rights activist Khurram Parvez in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided his home and office in the city of Srinagar, aided by police and paramilitary officials.
They seized his mobile phone, laptop, and some books before arresting him, his wife Samira said, adding that they confiscated her cellphone as well.
“They said it’s a case of ‘terror funding’,” she said.
UN official calls reports of arrest disturbing
The United Nations criticized Parvez’s arrest, with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights calling it “disturbing.”
“He’s not a terrorist, he’s a human rights defender,” Mary Lawlor said in a tweet.
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) called for Parvez’s “immediate release,” saying they were “deeply concerned about the high risk of torture while in custody.”
Several other activists and rights groups condemned the arrest and demanded that Indian authorities release him.
Who is Khurram Parvez?
The 42-year-old human rights defender serves as the program coordinator of the rights group Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society — a Srinagar-based federation of human rights groups and individuals working in the region.
The JKCCS has published reports documenting violence and the widespread rights abuses in Indian Kashmir, particularly those involving Indian security forces.
Parvez also served as the chairperson of the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) — a Philippine-based international rights group that examines forced disappearances in Asia.
In 2006, he received the Reebok Human Rights Award for being “a courageous voice of peace and human rights in Kashmir.”
Deutsche Welle