India: Arbitrarily detained without trial for four years, Khurram Parvez must be released

21 November 2025 - Khurram Parvez is the Coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in March 2023. He has, for years, documented human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, including enforced disappearances and extra-judicial killings. He cooperated extensively with the United Nations (UN) human rights mechanisms in pursuit of justice and accountability for human rights violations. He was awarded the 2023 Martin Ennals Award for his tireless human rights work.

Indian authorities have systematically persecuted Khurram for his human rights work. India’s National Investigation Agency arrested him on 22 November 2021 on various trumped-up charges including “waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war”,” “punishment for conspiracy to wage war” against the Government of India, “raising funds for terror activities” and “punishment for conspiracy”.

In March 2023, Khurram was charged in a second case while being in detention on fabricated charges of “terror financing” along with independent journalist Irfan Mehraj, who was formerly associated with JKCCS for their human rights work.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) in its opinion published in June 2023, stated that Khurram’s detention was arbitrary and called on the Indian authorities to immediately release him. To date, the Indian authorities have not responded to the WGAD or provided any updates to the Working Group regarding Khurram’s arbitrary detention.

Khurram had previously faced reprisals from Indian authorities for his human rights work, including in September 2016, when he was prevented from travelling to Geneva to attend the UN Human Rights Council session and arbitrarily detained for 76 days. The UN Secretary General’s annual report on reprisals has included information on Khurram since 2018 as a case of reprisal for cooperating with the UN.

Indian authorities have increasingly misused laws including the UAPA to bring politically motivated charges against human rights defenders. UN human rights experts in May 2020 expressed their concerns about various provisions of the UAPA and its non-conformity with international laws and human rights standards. The experts noted that provisions in the UAPA, such as the powers to detain a person for up to 180 days “without providing any evidence,” were particularly problematic and noted with concern that Section 43 D (5) of the UAPA makes it “highly unlikely” for a person arrested under this law to be released on bail.

In October 2023, UN human rights experts again raised concerns about the UAPA and its amendments, stating that the pre-trial detention period of 180 days, which can subsequently be increased, is beyond reasonable and called for a review of the UAPA in line with international human rights standards.

Khurram’s persecution is occurring within a larger context of systematic, longstanding, grave human rights violations by Indian authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir and impunity for those violations. Since August 2019, Indian authorities have forcibly closed the already highly restricted civic space in the region. Journalists continue to face targeted harassment including arrests, travel bans and passport suspensions for their reporting. Access to information is severely restricted, including through arbitrary internet shutdowns. Recent measures include a ban on certain scholarly and journalistic books in August 2025 on Kashmir for alleged promotion of “false narratives” and “secessionist content.”

Our organisations call on the Indian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj, to drop all charges against them, and to end all forms of harassment against all Kashmiri human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

The government should end misuse of laws such as UAPA and criminalisation of human rights defenders, journalists and dissidents. Indian authorities should amend their laws into conformity with international laws and human rights standards and ensure accountability for human rights violations committed by Indian forces in Indian-administered Kashmir.

As a member of the UN Human Rights Council, India should ensure that it abides by its human rights commitments and that the voluntary pledges it made to the UN General Assembly are not yet again just empty rhetoric. Khurram’s arbitrary detention, as well as India’s continued lack of meaningful engagement with UN Special Procedures with regards to his case, are inconsistent with India’s pledges made during UN Human Rights Council election, especially to “continue to cooperate and engage with special procedures, accept requests for visits and respond to communications” and “strengthen protection against reprisals” for human rights defenders.

We also call upon the Indian authorities to immediately comply with their international legal obligations, by allowing civil society to freely operate in Indian-administered Kashmir as well as across India, and by ceasing their longstanding obstruction of international civil society and inter-governmental organisations, including the UN Special Rapporteurs and other human rights mechanisms which should have unfettered access to Indian-administered Kashmir.

Signatories:

• Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
• Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
• CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
• Front Line Defenders
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
• Kashmir Law and Justice Project (KLJP)
• World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders