India
Wednesday 16.9.2020 India - Latest Developments -
Activists, academics and journalists in India face judicial harassment despite pandemic
The Narendra Modi government has continued its persecution of human rights defenders, activists, student leaders and journalists. Political activists and student leaders continue to be the government’s prime targets, with some detained under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and for sedition. A raging pandemic and national lockdown has not stopped the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from making more arrests in the controversial Bhima Koregaon case of 2018. Human rights groups have continued to remain concerned about violations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
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Wednesday 6.5.2020 India - Latest Developments -
In India the situation of activists and journalists remains precarious under the COVID-19 lockdown
Human rights defenders across India continue to be arrested and detained - some under draconian laws - despite the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, for raising questions or criticising the authorities. Journalists have also been targeted, including in Indian administered Kashmir. The authorities have also used the opportunity to destroy the Shaheen Bagh protest site in Delhi and to criminalise those protesting the discriminatory Citizen Amendment Act (CAA). Read more
Friday 28.2.2020 India - Latest Developments -
Civil society calls on authorities to address police inaction and hate speech around Delhi violence
Civil society groups have called on both the Central and Delhi governments to take all necessary measures to prevent further violence, address police inaction and denounce hate speech by political leaders after violence broke out on 23rd February 2020 in New Delhi. Read more
Monday 13.1.2020 India - Latest Developments -
Discriminatory citizenship law sparks a month of protests in India and brutal response from police
Over the last month, a divisive and discriminatory citizenship law has sparked widespread protests in India. It has been met with excessive force and deadly violence by the authorities, with at least 27 killed and hundreds injured. Critics of the law and activists have been arrested while there have been allegations of torture in detention by the police in Uttar Pradesh. The police also failed to protect attacks against students by a pro-government mob at Jawaharlal Nehru University. Read more
Tuesday 10.9.2019 India - Latest Developments -
Ongoing attacks against environmental activists and journalists in India while critics harassed
Human rights defenders, particularly environmental and Right to Information (RTI) activists and journalists, continue to be targeted by state and non-state actors for exposing abuses. Read more
Tuesday 13.8.2019 India - Latest Developments -
Civil society concerned about risks to fundamental freedoms in Kashmir as special status revoked
Civil society groups have raised concerns about the threats to fundamental freedoms in Jammu and Kashmir following the revocation of its special status by the central government on 5 August 2019 Read more
Saturday 13.7.2019 India - Latest Developments -
Raid on Lawyers Collective by Indian police aimed to ‘intimidate and silence’ them
On 11th July 2019, Indian authorities raided the home and offices of noted Indian human rights defenders and lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover in an alleged case of violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA) by Lawyers Collective, an NGO they co-founded. Read more
Monday 13.5.2019 India - Latest Developments -
Arbitrary arrests, judicial harassment and attacks on activists and critics in India persist
Over the last few months, there has been the continued use of restrictive laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Sedition Act to harass, criminalise and detain activists and silence dissent. Cases have also been documented of attacks and ill-treatment of activists by the police, attacks on journalists and at least one case of an activist that has gone missing. Read more
Tuesday 12.2.2019 India - Latest Developments -
Ongoing attacks on journalists and activists, as elections draw near
Over the last few months, journalists and activists in India have faced attacks and persecution for their work . Government critics have been charged with sedition and laws have been used to target civil society Read more
Thursday 29.11.2018 India - Latest Developments -
Women's rights come to the fore in India
On 25th September 2018, Bollywood actor Tanushree Dutta alleged that she was sexually harassed by director-actor, Nana Patekar on a film set in 2008. Speaking on television, the actor recollected her struggle after the incident. The Tanushree Dutta interview, single-handedly sparked a #MeToo movement in India. Thousands of women took to social media to share their experiences of sexual harassment, assault, violence and sexual violence. Read more
