Gender: Male
Perpetrator: India
Religion or Belief: Muslim – Unspecified/Other
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Date of Detainment: November/22/2021
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Human Rights Work for Religious Communities
Nature of Charges: Criminal Premeditation & Conspiracy Illicit Financing Terrorism Treason & Sedition
Khurram Parvez is detained for his human rights work.
On November 22, 2021, authorities arrested Parvez, a Muslim human rights advocate that has been critical of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), after raiding his home and office. He was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) reportedly on allegations of “terrorism funding, being a member of a terrorist organization, criminal conspiracy, and waging war against the state.” Human rights organizations allege Parvez’s arrest is motivated by his work documenting human rights violations committed by authorities in Kashmir, a Muslim-majority area. He works as the program coordinator for the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and the chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances.
On December 1, 2021, the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called for Parvez’s release.
On March 22, 2023, Parvez was arrested in a second case and accused of financing terrorism under the UAPA through his work with JKCCS.
On March 24, 2023, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor called for Parvez's release.
Parvez has previously been imprisoned for his work. He was arrested in 2016 and spent 76 days in jail.
"India: UN expert demands immediate end to crackdown on Kashmiri human rights defenders" UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
“Comment by UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville on arrest of human rights defender Khurram Parvez and recent killings in Indian Administered Kashmir” UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
“India: Kashmiri Activist Held Under Abusive Law” Human Rights Watch
“India arrests prominent human rights activist in Kashmir amid clampdown” Washington Post
“Khurram Parvez: Kashmiri rights activist arrested under anti-terror law” British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)