Late on Monday evening, the Hurriyat Conference released a statement condemning arrest of the prominent Human Rights defender – Khurram Parvez.
“The Hurriyat Conference condemns the arrest of noted human rights defender Khurram Parvez,” the statement said.
The Hurriyat Conference, in the statement, called upon the “authorities to release him immediately and desist from this campaign of mass incarceration in Kashmir.”
“Hundreds of Kashmiris continue to languish in jails in Kashmir and across India on frivolous grounds. Indian authorities should release all prisoners and desist from its authoritarian approach,” the statement concluded.
It is pertinent to mention that Parvez was arrested by the National Investigating Agency from his house in Srinagar on Monday, after the NIA sleuths also raided his house and office.
Khurram is associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society. His family said that they received an arrest warrant (case 30/2021) in Khurram’s name on Monday evening. “He was taken for questioning by the officials who said they were from the NIA,” sources said.
The family said that Khurram’s phone, laptop and some books have been taken in by the forces. And that he will be taken to Delhi.
It is also worth mentioning that on September 21, 2016, Khurram was booked under Public Safety Act after District Magistrate Srinagar in this regard issued an order. His detention courted criticism and condemnation from various rights groups internationally.
Earlier on Monday evening, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, took to micro-blogging site Twitter to raise concern over Khurram’s arrest.
“I’m hearing disturbing reports that Khurram Parvez was arrested today in Kashmir & is at risk of being charged by authorities in #India with terrorism-related crimes. He’s not a terrorist, he’s a Human Rights Defender,” Lawlor tweeted.
Meanwhile, former UN Rapporteur, David Kaye, also took to Twitter and said that if the reports regarding Khurram Parvez’s arrest were true then, “it’s yet another extraordinary abuse in Kashmir.”