Alleging witch-hunt by GoI, Amnesty halts India operations

In a note published on the organization's website, Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International India, said the crackdown on its bank accounts were not "accidental."

He claimed Centre went after Amnesty because it posed questions about the rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, which lost its special status last year, and Delhi riots, that happened in February leading to the death of 50+.

The NGO, that has constantly come under a vitriolic attack by BJP loyalists for its overseas funding, follows all Indian and international laws. For its human rights work in India, the NGO raises money domestically.

Amnesty added that over four million Indians supported its work and around 100,000 contributed financially.

"These contributions evidently cannot have any relation with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010," the note said.

Kumar lashed out at the Centre for viewing Amnesty and other rights organizations through a criminal lens, adding that Enforcement Directorate and GoI wanted to dismantle credible voices in India.

"It (government's actions) reeks of fear and repression, ignores the human cost to this crackdown particularly during a pandemic and violates people's basic rights to freedom of speech and expression, assembly," Kumar went on.

Providing details of what the organization allegedly faced, Amnesty said the purported harassment began in 2018 when ED officials conducted a ten-hour-long raid inside its premises, wherein they closed the gates as well.

After the raid, bank accounts were frozen.

In early 2019, 30 regular donors received investigative letters from the Income Tax Department, a move, Amnesty said, waylaid its efforts to raise funds.

Thereafter, in June 2019, the NGO was denied permission to hold a press conference in Srinagar to release the third "Lawless Law" report, centered around abuse of the Public Safety Act in the former state, the note added.

The report was finally released digitally.

Moreover, after the NGO testified at the US Congressional hearing on J&K's ground realities in October 2019, raids were conducted.

Amnesty said its suggestions to the Uttar Pradesh government regarding the intimidation of journalists, its report on the human rights situation in J&K, and its findings of Delhi Police's actions during the riots added to its woes.

On September 10, it learned ED froze all bank accounts "bringing most of the work of the human rights organization to a grinding halt," the NGO added.