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INDIAN security forces arrested prominent human rights campaigner Khurram Parvez after a raid on his home in Kashmir on Monday, his family reported today.
Agents from the notorious National Investigation Agency detained him on spurious anti-terrorism charges, leading to calls for his immediate release.
Mr Parvez is chairman of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances and had been documenting atrocities committed by occupying Indian forces in Kashmir.
He has been accused of involvement in “secessionist and separatist activities” and of receiving funding from unnamed terrorist organisations — charges dismissed by his supporters.
“He’s not a terrorist, he’s a human rights defender,” said Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders.
The World Organisation Against Torture called for his immediate release and expressed fear over his safety in the hands of security officials.
“We are deeply concerned about the high risk of torture while in custody,” it said in a statement.
Mr Parvez was jailed for 72 days in 2016 after Indian authorities stopped him from boarding a plane to Geneva, where he was set to participate in a session of the UN Human Rights Council.
