- Amnesty International has been forced to shut down operations in India and lay off all staff after the Indian government froze its bank accounts.
- The Indian enforcement directorate, an agency that investigates economic crimes, froze the accounts of Amnesty’s Indian arm this month after the group published two reports highly critical of the government’s human rights record.
- Amnesty’s departure starkly illustrates the shrinking space for dissent in India, where critics of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party face investigation and detention, often under draconian terrorism laws.
- Amnesty published two reports critical of Indian authorities:
- one alleging rights violations and involvement of police in communal riots in Delhi, and
- Another condemning restrictions on civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir a year after the government revoked the region’s political autonomy.
- Russia is the only other country where Amnesty has been forced to completely close down after government interference.
- Amnesty added that it had complied with all applicable international and Indian laws.
- For its work in India, it said it raised funds domestically and around 1 lakh Indians had contributed financially in the past eight years.
- These contributions evidently cannot have any relation with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
- The fact that the Government is now portraying this lawful fundraising model as money-laundering is evidence that the overbroad legal framework is maliciously activated when human rights activists and groups challenge the government’s grave inactions and excesses.
- Amnesty had previously suspended its India operations in 2009, because of what the group said was repeated rejection of their licence to receive funds from overseas. India was then ruled by a Congress-led government, which sits in opposition now.