UN High Commissioner urged to secure release of Khurram Parvez
Islamabad: All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader, (APHC-AJK) Hassan Bana, has urgently called for action to secure the release of Khurram Parvez, a prominent advocate for human rights in occupied Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Bana wrote the letter to Volker Turk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to draw the attention towards the illegal detention of Khurram Parvez’s detention and called it as an attempt to silence dissent and human rights advocacy in the region, highlighting the ongoing violations of his rights.
In his letter, Hassan Bana stressed the importance of international pressure to secure Parvez’s release and to hold India accountable for the political repression of human rights defenders. The international community’s intervention is seen as crucial in protecting activists like Parvez, who risk their lives to expose abuses in Kashmir, a region long under military occupation and political unrest.
The text of the letter is given below:
Mr. Volker Turk,
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
Dear Mr. High Commissioner,
On the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, I am writing to express my deep concern about the arbitrary detention of KhurramParvez, a renowned Kashmiri human rights defender and program coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).
On November 22,2021, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), raided Mr. Khurram’s home and office in Srinagar and seized his and his family members’ all the Gadgets, books and other documents related to his human rights work. He was then called in for a so-called questioning at the said agencies office and subsequently thrown behind the bars under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), India’s abusive counterterrorism law. He has now been in prison for more than three years and this is a clear attempt to silence his advocacy for human rights in Kashmir.
Moreover, KhurramParvez has been a victim of a number of incidents for speaking the truth relentlessly. He had previously faced targeted reprisals too. In 2004 he lost a leg when his vehicle was hit by an IED explosion.
Mr. Khurram is currently incarcerated in India’s most infamous prison, “Tihar Jail Delhi”, where he has been facing ill-treatment and denial of basic rights particularly the fair trial. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, International Commission of Jurists, Human rights organizations including Amnesty International have time and again raised concern about his fabricated case and false charges, emphasizing the need for his immediate release. However, despite these International calls and condemnations India is still uninclined to release him.
As a human rights activist and a concerned citizen of Kashmir, living in exile, I am deeply troubled by the attitude and actions of Indian authorities against Mr. Khurram, which, I believe, are a clear violation of his human rights. Therefore, I request you to take an immediate action on this matter, secure his release and ensure his safety.
I hope your office will keep me informed about any developments regarding this important and urgent case.
Sincerely,
Hassan Bana.
Human Rights Defender & an Advocate of Kashmir Cause.
Email: hassanbana72@gmail.com.
