Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj were released on bail after years in detention on allegations of financing terrorism in Indian-administered Kashmir. The National Investigation Agency has appealed the lower court’s bail order; the Delhi High Court allowed release but imposed strict limits while the appeal is heard. International rights groups and the U.N. human-rights office have urged their release, calling the charges politically motivated. Proceedings in the case will continue in the coming weeks.
Kashmiri Rights Activist Khurram Parvez and Journalist Irfan Mehraj Freed On Bail Under Tight Restrictions
FILE- Khurram Parvez, a prominent human rights activist, left, speaks with human rights lawyer Parvez Imroz inside the office of of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Aug. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File)
Human-rights activist Khurram Parvez and independent journalist Irfan Mehraj were released on bail late Wednesday after spending years in custody on accusations of financing terrorism in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir. Parvez was arrested in 2021 and Mehraj in 2023 under India’s anti-terror laws.
Although a lower court authorized their bail last week, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) appealed that decision. The Delhi High Court declined to suspend the release order but imposed strict limits on their movements and activities while the appeal proceeds.
Legal And Advocacy Context
Both men deny the charges. The NIA alleges they used the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), where Parvez has been long associated and Mehraj worked as a researcher, to channel funds to militant-linked activities and to promote a separatist agenda. Parvez and Mehraj and their supporters reject these allegations as unfounded.
The JKCCS has published reports alleging widespread use of torture and other abuses by some of the hundreds of thousands of Indian security personnel deployed in Kashmir, arguing that broad legal powers have contributed to impunity and rights violations.
International Response
International rights organizations, including the United Nations human-rights office, the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), have repeatedly called for the men's release. Following the bail, FIDH and OMCT issued a joint statement calling the charges "trumped-up" and urged authorities to drop all charges, saying the prosecutions are politically motivated and intended to discredit legitimate rights work.
Broader Background
The developments come against the backdrop of a decades-long dispute over Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Militancy in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir has challenged New Delhi's rule since the late 1980s, and tensions escalated after India revoked the region's special constitutional status in August 2019. Rights groups say that since then authorities have increasingly used stringent anti-terror measures against activists, journalists and dissenting voices.
What Happens Next: Court proceedings will continue in the coming weeks as the NIA pursues its appeal. The men remain free on bail but subject to strict court-ordered restrictions.
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