KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
The International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED) strongly condemned the continued “arbitrary” detention of Khurram Parvez in Kotbalwal Jail in Jammu, under the notorious Public Safety Act (PSA).
It is been more than a month since Khurram Parvez, Chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and Program Coordinator of Srinagar based Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), was arrested after being prevented from flying to Geneva to attend the UN Human Rights Council.
“We condemn the authorities’ failure to grant Khurram Parvez his right to unimpeded access to legal counsel,” said Mary Aileen D. Bacalso, Focal Person, ICAED. “Especially in light of Parvez’s health complications, we call for his immediate release.”
“We recall that at the time of his arrest, Parvez was given no access to lawyers, and no arrest warrant. Parvez was in fact not given any reason at all for his arrest. We also take this opportunity to recall that on 20 September, the Principal Districts and Sessions Judge of Srinagar quashed the charges against Parvez and ordered authorities to release him from jail. One month later, Parvez is still being detained, now in a prison 300km from his family and lawyer. Moreover, no measures have been taken to accommodate his disability,” he said.
A statement issued by CCS said that on October 14, 2016, the petition challenging Khurram Parvez’s PSA detention was listed before the Registry (court administration) of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The government, which was directed to file its objections/response on the same day, did not do so.
While the government has been provided five days more to file a response, the Registry has listed the case for hearing by the court on 25th October. This is the second hearing on the arbitrary detention of Khurram Parvez in one month.
“Parvez’s arrest is understood to be part of the government’s crackdown on civil society in Jammu and Kashmir. We understand that in the case of Parvez, his arrest is linked to the fact that he has been critical of the methods being used by Mehbooba Mufti Sayeed’s government to quell the current uprising. It is alarming to note that there are an estimated 1,000 cases of political activists and protestors, including minors, who are currently being detained illegally,” Bacalso observed.
“We recall again that India’s failure to guarantee Parvez’s right to freely participate in his work with AFAD and JKCCS is contrary to Article 24 Paragraph 7 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which India signed on 6 February 2007 but not yet ratified. We are of the opinion that in the case of Parvez, the Government of India’s actions are inconsistent with articles 9, 12, 19, and 22 respectively of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, acceded to by India on 10 April 1979,” the statement added. “We once again call for the immediate release of Parvez. Recalling India’s human rights obligations; we also call for the unconditional removal of obstacles preventing human rights defenders, including Parvez, from exercising their fundamental human rights.”
