KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
After New York Times and other international rights defender groups batted for the release of Khurram Parvez, Srinagar based rights defender, a similar group from Srilanka has called on the government of India to immediately release him.
Khurram has been booked under draconian Public Safety Act (PSA) and has been lodged in Kotbalwal Jail Jammu, some 300 KM away from his home in summer capital.
Khurram Parvez is Chairperson of the Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Program Coordinator of the Srinagar based Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a rights defender group.
“We note that article 9 (1) of the ICCPR, to which India is a state party, provides that: no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except on such grounds and in accordance with such procedure as are established by law. Article 9 (2) states that anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest. Article 14(3) (b) of the ICCPR is very clear in stating that everyone shall be entitled to communicate with a counsel of his own choosing,” a statement issued by Sriankan Human Rights groups and civil society members published by Srilanka Guardian said.
Khurram was barred by immigration authorities in Delhi airport from boarding his flight to Geneva to attend the UN Human Rights Council’s 33rd Session on 14th September. No official written reason has been given. He was verbally informed that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) of India had ordered that he was not allowed to travel outside the country.
He was to lead the AFAD delegation and to attend various meetings with UN officials and representatives of Permanent Missions of UN Member States in Geneva.
Later, on 16 September around 12:30 AM, he was arrested from his home in Srinagar and brought to the Kothibagh Police station. He was later taken to the Kupwara sub-jail. The sub-jail authorities were served with the Sessions Court order quashing his detention, however, police re-arrested him and he was taken back to the Kothi Bagh Police station from Kupwara police station and later he was lodged in Kotbalwal jail Jammu under PSA.
“This appears to be a reprisal for his long years of human rights activism. The timing of the denial to travel and arrest appears to indicate the Indian authorities aimed to stop him from participating in the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council,” the group said. “We demand immediate release of Mr Khurram. And in the meantime, to ensure his physical and mental well-being and to grant him free access to his lawyers and to allow him to freely communicate with his family.”
