KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Amnesty International has closed down its offices in India. It has postponed its future events which were scheduled.
Notably, Amnesty International faced sedition charges after its offices held an event over Kashmir in Southern state of Karnataka.
An Amnesty International India spokesperson had earlier told Reuters that the organisation has “temporarily closed its offices and postponed events”.
“This (closure of offices) was done to raise awareness of rights abuses and over safety concerns for its staff, after human rights watch dog was accused of sedition,” AI India spokesperson said.
However, The Huffington Post reported that Sanjoy Majumder, India’s Correspondent for BBC News tweeted this morning that the (AI) staff was “in fact working from ‘other locations’ as a precautionary measure”.
The Amnesty International India faced intense criticism from across the ideological divide in mainland India for holding such an event. AI was accused that anti-India slogans were raised in the event.
Political activists held demonstrations against the rights group on Tuesday and Wednesday, accusing it of inciting hatred against India during an event it hosted on abuses by Indian security forces in the troubled Kashmir region.
Bangalore Police said they were investigating if “anti-India” slogans were raised at the event after receiving a complaint from the right-wing student organisation, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which has ties to the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
Kashmir Life tried to contact Media Officer of Amnesty International India, Himanshi Matta, but her mobile phone was switched off while the automated message on AI office number said, “AI is unavailable.”
