Join the global solidarity movement demanding the release of Khurram Parvez
Name: Khurram Parvez
Place of Birth: Jammu and Kashmir
Year of Birth: 1977
Place of Imprisonment: Rohini Jail, Delhi, India
Charges: No charges filed
Urgent Health Concerns: COVID 19
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Join the global solidarity movement demanding the release of Khurram Parvez, a renowned Kashmiri Human Rights Activist and Prisoner of Haqq.
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Call your elected officials, urging them to raise the issue of Khurram Parvez in Congress.
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About Khurram Parvez
Free Khurram Parvez: A PRISONER OF HAQQ
WHY IS INDIA TARGETING HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS? Is it connected with plan to further commit crimes against humanity leading to genocide?
Parvez is a Kashmir human rights defender and Program Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a civil liberties and human rights organization in disputed Indian Administered Jammu & Kashmir. Parvez and JKCCS are internationally recognized for their wide-ranging work on documentation of human rights abuses, promoting civil society engagements and democratic institution building in Jammu & Kashmir. Over the last two decades, they have worked with thousands of individuals, and families to document the impact of state torture, extrajudicial killings, and other widespread abuses. Khurram also serves as the chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) and is also a distinguished scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
On November 22, 2021, Khurram was arbitrarily detained by Indian authorities. He was arrested under India’s draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, or the UAPA, a law that has been weaponized against anyone who is critical of the Indian government’s human rights abuses. No charges have been filed against him.
Write to President Carter:
Please write to request President Carter to ask President Biden to interfere in defense of human rights defenders, specifically Khurram Parvez. He does not respond to emails.
So write a traditional letter:
President Carter
c/o The Carter Center
453 John Lewis Freedom Parkway NE
Atlanta, GA 30307-1406
Write to President Carter:
Actions requested (courtesy FIDH):
Please write to the authorities in India, urging them to:
- Guarantee in all circumstances the physical integrity and psychological well-being of Khurram Parvez and all human rights defenders in India;
- Immediately and unconditionally release Khurram Parvez and put an end to all acts of harassment against him and all other human rights defenders in India, and ensure that they are able to carry out their legitimate activities without any hindrance and fear of reprisals in all circumstances;
- Free All human rights defenders and allow freedom of press but stopping the continued harassment and detention of journalists
- Guarantee Khurram Parvez’s right to due process and fair trial;
- Immediately put an end to the use of repressive laws to target human rights defenders, ensure its compliance with international human rights standards and repeal the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Addresses:Mr. - Narendra Damodardas Modi, Prime Minister of India, E-mail: pmosb@pmo.nic.in, Twitter: @narendramodi
- Mr. Amit Shah, Union Minister of Home Affairs of India, Email: dirfcra-mha@gov.in
- Mr. Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs of India, Email: hshso@nic.in
- Mr. N.V. Ramana, Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court of India, Email: supremecourt@nic.in
- Mr. Shri Bimbadhar Pradhan, IAS, Secretary General Chief Executive Officer of the National Human Rights Commission of India, Email: sgnhrc@nic.in, Twitter: @India_NHRC
- Mr. Debindra Kundra, Focal Point on Human Rights Defenders, National Human Rights Commission of India, Email: hrd-nhrc@nic.in
- H.E. Mr. Rajiv Kumar Chander, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Email: mission.india@ties.itu.int
SIGN THIS PETITION https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/free-khurram-parvez-respect-human-rights-in-kashmir-2/
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of India located in your country.
Influence and Recognition
Khurram Parvez was the recipient of the 2006 Reebok Human Rights Award.
Under Khurram’s Chairmanship AFAD won the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy 2016 Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award for its work on enforced disappearances.
He was also a recipient of a prestigious Chevening Fellowship at University of Glasgow, UK from December 2005 to April 2006, and the International Visitors’ Leadership Program, a United States Government’s programme for mid-career professionals in 2009.
Quotes:
Kerry Kennedy
President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization
“ I’m also here today not only about a man who I hold in highest esteem. I am here today because Khurram’s most recent arrest is a prime example of the crackdown on civic space in India and across the globe, where regimes target journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders, who play the critical role of holding governments accountable. ”
Mary Lawlor
UN Special Rapporteur On Human Rights Defenders
“ I reiterate my call for his release, and all the other detained human rights defenders in India. He is a man as we all know, who has been a fearless advocate for human rights over so many years. In recent years, I have watched with dismay at the moves undertaken by the Indian authorities to criminalize the defense of human rights in the country. ”
Kerry Kennedy
President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization
“ I’m also here today not only about a man who I hold in highest esteem. I am here today because Khurram’s most recent arrest is a prime example of the crackdown on civic space in India and across the globe, where regimes target journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders, who play the critical role of holding governments accountable. ”
Carolyn Nash
Amnesty
“ The Biden administration needs to apply human rights standards consistently whether speaking to allies or adversaries. In this case, that means making public demands for Khurram Parvez’s release, pushing the Indian Government to repeal the UAPA and making that push not only in the context of the US India relationship, but also in partnership with other like minded governments. ”
Mary Lawlor
UN Special Rapporteur On Human Rights Defenders
“ I reiterate my call for his release, and all the other detained human rights defenders in India. He is a man as we all know, who has been a fearless advocate for human rights over so many years. In recent years, I have watched with dismay at the moves undertaken by the Indian authorities to criminalize the defense of human rights in the country. ”
Quotes:
Kerry Kennedy
President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization
“ I’m also here today not only about a man who I hold in highest esteem. I am here today because Khurram’s most recent arrest is a prime example of the crackdown on civic space in India and across the globe, where regimes target journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders, who play the critical role of holding governments accountable. ”
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