In summary: In September 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least 11 people and arbitrarily detained at least 24, including journalist Majid Hyderi. Indian authorities continued to enhance their social media surveillance and forced silencing of dissent, including through the ongoing cooperation of social media companies. Indian authorities continued to escalate their transnational repression of Kashmiris, as well as their systematic expropriation of Kashmiri property, including through the initiation of a new process to detain and seize the property of 4,200 purported “militants.” Several Kashmiri Muslim religious leaders subjected to prolonged arbitrary detention, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, were released from detention.
Numerous Kashmiri journalists, human rights defenders, political activists, and dissenters continue to be arbitrarily detained. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) produced charges against human rights defenders Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj, who have been subject to prolonged arbitrary detention, in a case targeting the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), the leading human rights organization in IAK. Parvez, arbitrarily detained on November 22, 2021, remains illegally imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in New Delhi. As of the date of this publication, Parvez has been detained for 699 days. His case is emblematic of repression targeting Kashmiri human rights defenders and civil society. In a case emblematic of the repression targeting Kashmiri journalists, Aasif Sultan, arbitrarily detained on August 27, 2018, also remains illegally imprisoned. As of the date of this publication, Sultan has been detained for 1,882 days. Due to ongoing repression by Indian authorities, key developments in the human rights situation in IAK have likely gone unreported.
The brief below provides more detailed discussion and contextualization of specific cases. Previous monthly updates are available online via Kashmir Law & Justice Project, Kashmir Scholars Network, and Project South. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.
We are submitting the attached brief to provide important updates regarding the human rights situation in Indian-Administered Kashmir (IAK) over the past month. We represent leading international legal and scholarly organizations working on the human rights situation in IAK, working in collaboration with the US-based social, economic, and political justice organization Project South.
Sincerely,
Imraan Mir <imraanmir@protonmail.com>
Principal, Kashmir Law & Justice Project
Haley Duschinski <duschins@ohio.edu>
