Gender: Male
Current Location: Tihar Jail, Delhi
Perpetrator: India
Religion or Belief: Unspecified
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: September/13/2020
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Protesting Religious Freedom Conditions Religious Identity
Nature of Charges: Criminal Premeditation & Conspiracy Hate Speech Illicit Financing Murder & Attempted Murder Public Disorder Terrorism Treason & Sedition
Umar Khalid is detained for protesting religious freedom conditions.
On September 13, 2020, authorities arrested Khalid, a student activist, after accusing him of inciting communal violence through speeches in February 2020. Khalid was targeted for leading peaceful protests opposing the religious discriminatory Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Khalid is charged under FIR 59/2020 with offenses under the IPC, 1967 Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Charges include but are not limited to rioting (Sec. 147 IPC), rioting with a deadly weapon (Sec. 148 IPC), murder (Sec. 302 IPC), attempted murder (Sec. 307 IPC), sedition (Sec. 124A IPC), "promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony" (Sec. 153A IPC), unlawful activities (Sec. 13 UAPA), terrorist acts (Sec. 16 UAPA), raising funds for terrorist acts (Sec. 17 UAPA), and conspiracy (Sec. 18 UAPA).
On April 15, 2021, a Delhi court granted Khalid bail. Khalid, however, was forced to remain in prison in light of other charges against him.
On December 12, 2022, a Delhi court granted Khalid temporary bail from December 23 to December 30 to attend his sister's wedding.
Related Cases: Shifa ur-Rehman, Sharjeel Imam, Natasha Narwal, Meeran Haider, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jehan, Gulfisha Fatima, Devangana Kalita, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha
Photo provided by Justice For All
"The Dissident: Umar Khalid Challenged Modi’s Anti-Muslim Agenda. India Accused Him of Terrorism and Locked Him Up." The Intercept
"Umar Khalid granted seven days’ interim bail to attend sister’s wedding" Scroll.in
"India: Denial of bail to Umar Khalid big blow to the right to peaceful protest" Amnesty Internationl
"‘Bond, Romeo, Juliet’ & WhatsApp group chats: Why Umar Khalid was denied bail in Delhi riots case" The Print
"Marriage, assault by inmates & 2 years in jail later, why court granted bail to Ishrat Jahan" The Print
2020 Report on International Religious Freedom: India U.S. Department of State
"Umar Khalid gets bail in a riots case, to stay in jail" Hindustan Times
"Justice For All Calls For The Immediate Release Of Indian Student Activist And Political Prisoner Umar Khalid" Justice For All
"Six Months Since Delhi Riots, Delhi Police Continue to Enjoy Impunity Despite Rights Violations" Amnesty International
"India: Arrests of Activists Politically Motivated" Human Rights Watch
"Indian student activist Umar Khalid arrested over Delhi riots" The Guardian
Amnesty International, Tweet, September 14, 2020
"Former JNU student Umar Khalid arrested in connection with North-East Delhi riots" Hindustan Times
USCIRF Legislation Factsheet: The Citizenship (Amendment) Act in India February 2020
Dec 22, 2021
USCIRF Concerned by Russian Prosecution of International Memorial Society
Washington, DC – The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed its grave concern today over the Russian government’s ongoing efforts to close the International Memorial Society (Memorial), which is an irreplaceable resource for monitoring severe persecution, including religious freedom conditions in Eurasia.
“The persecution of the International Memorial Society is a perfect example of the war against religious freedom and other human rights in Russia,” said USCIRF Commissioner Khizr Khan. “Closing Memorial would not only impact advocacy on behalf of free speech, journalists, women’s rights, LGBT, and ethnic minorities in Russia, but it would also severely curtail efforts to monitor religious freedom in other nations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.”
Memorial is the umbrella organization for the oldest and most prestigious human rights network in Russia. It documents and keeps records of Soviet-era repressions and maintains extensive lists of current political prisoners in the region. In Russia, the vast majority of those listed are imprisoned for their peaceful religious belief or practice. In 2014, the Russian government designated Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Center, which is an organization within Memorial that monitors ongoing human rights violations, as “foreign agents” and forced the organizations to place warnings on all of their published materials. In November 2021, a Russian prosecutor requested that the Supreme Court abolish Memorial for allegedly failing to do so, despite its well-documented efforts to comply.
On December 15, 2021, the court ordered Memorial to pay a fine, which observers fear to be a prelude to the imminent liquidation of the organization. Hearings on its closure began in November, and similar hearings for the Memorial Human Rights Center are scheduled for December 23, 2021.
“This campaign against Memorial is part of the Russian government’s broader crackdown on civil society and human rights, especially religious freedom. Russia also labels the Jehovah’s Witnesses as ‘extremists’ while other religious minority groups are designated as ‘undesirable organizations,’ which are tactics to give the government broad powers to target religious groups and religious freedom advocates for arbitrary reasons” said USCIRF Commissioner James W. Carr. “While we agree with the State Department’s decision to designate Russia as a country of particular concern, USCIRF also encourages the U.S. government to work with European allies to use advocacy, diplomacy, and targeted sanctions to encourage Russia to end religious freedom abuses.”
Since 2017, USCIRF has recommended that the U.S. State Department designate Russia a country of particular concern, or CPC, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations. In November 2021, the State Department designated Russia a CPC for the first time.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].
Dec 21, 2021
The continued systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya laws have resulted in the discrimination and persecution of religious minority communities. In 2021 alone, there have been several examples of mob violence, targeted killings, and the desecration of graves and houses of worship. These laws have enabled and encouraged Islamist extremists to operate with impunity, easily targeting religious minorities or those with differing beliefs.
USCIRF Senior Policy Analyst and South Asia specialist Niala Mohammad joins us to elaborate upon the most pressing concerns impacting religious freedom conditions in Pakistan.
Read USCIRF’s Factsheet on Ahmadiyya Persecution
Read USCIRF’s Factsheet on the Destruction of Cemeteries
Listen to USCIRF's Podcast on Ahmadiyya Muslims
Listen to USCIRF's Podcast on Vulnerable Religious Communities in Pakistan