Global rights groups demand release of Kashmiri activist
International organizations say prolonged imprisonment of Kashmir human-rights defender Khurram Parvez reflects deepening crackdown under India’s counter-terror laws
SRINAGAR, Kashmir (MNTV) — Dozens of international human-rights organizations have issued a joint call for the “immediate and unconditional” release of Khurram Parvez, one of Kashmir’s most prominent rights defenders, as he completes four years of incarceration under India’s sweeping counter-terrorism law.
Parvez, the Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has been held without trial since November 2021 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA. He is currently detained in Rohini Jail in New Delhi.
The joint statement was signed by a broad coalition of global human-rights organizations, including the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances; the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development; CIVICUS – a South Africa–based global civil-society alliance; Front Line Defenders, an international protection group for at-risk activists; the International Federation for Human Rights; the Kashmir Law and Justice Project; and the World Organization Against Torture.
The groups said Parvez’s case reflects a pattern of reprisals against those documenting violations in the region.
Rights groups noted that Parvez has long documented enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings and abuses by Indian forces in Kashmir, often providing evidence to United Nations mechanisms.
His work earned him the 2023 Martin Ennals Award, considered one of the world’s most respected honors for human-rights defenders.
According to the statement, Indian authorities have “systematically persecuted” Parvez for his human-rights work. The National Investigation Agency arrested him on allegations ranging from “waging war against the state” to “terror financing” — charges rights organizations describe as baseless and politically motivated.
Parvez has also faced reprisals before: in 2016 he was barred from travelling to Geneva for a UN Human Rights Council session and detained for 76 days under the Public Safety Act. The UN Secretary-General has repeatedly listed him as a victim of reprisals for cooperation with UN bodies.
In the years since India revoked Kashmir’s semi-autonomous status in August 2019, civic space has narrowed sharply. Journalists, activists and academics have faced arrests, travel bans, passport cancellations, and internet restrictions.
In August 2025, several scholarly and journalistic books on Kashmir were banned for allegedly promoting “false narratives,” a move scholars described as censorship aimed at silencing critical voices.
Parvez is also charged in a second UAPA case alongside independent journalist Irfan Mehraj, who formerly worked with JKCCS. Kashmiri journalists say the cases reflect a broader effort to criminalize reporting and documentation work in the region.
Rights organizations warn that UAPA’s stringent provisions — particularly Section 43D(5), which makes bail extremely difficult — have enabled prolonged pre-trial detention, undermining basic legal safeguards. UN experts have previously raised concerns about the law’s incompatibility with international human-rights standards.
The signatories urged Indian authorities to release Parvez and Mehraj, drop all charges against them, and end what they describe as the misuse of counter-terror laws to target human-rights defenders in Kashmir.
They further called on India to align its national security legislation with international legal norms and ensure accountability for long-standing rights violations in the region.
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