Khurram Parvez | |
---|---|
Born | 1977 |
Occupation(s) | Chairperson, Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) |
Known for | Reebok Human Rights Award |
Spouse | Sameena Khurram |
Children | 1 |
Awards | Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (2023) |
Khurram Parvez is a Kashmiri human rights activist. [1] [2] He is the chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) [3] and the program coordinator of Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society. [4] [5] Khurram is a recipient of the 2006 Reebok Human Rights Award. [6] [7] Parvez was included in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in 2022. [8]
Parvez holds a Masters in Mass Communication from Kashmir University. He was a Chevening Fellow at University of Glasgow in 2005. [9] [10]
He co-founded Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) along with Parvez Imroz in 2000, and serves as its program coordinator. JKCCS works on building alliances among local civil society organizations and publishes reports on human rights violations in the territory. [10] [11]
He serves as the Chairperson of Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances and the Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights. [12] He holds the position of Distinguished Scholar at the Political Conflict, Gender and People’s Rights Initiative at the University of California, Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender. [13]
In 2023, Parvez was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. [14]
On 14 September 2016, he was first stopped by Indian authorities at New Delhi airport to prevent him from attending the 33rd UN Human Rights Council Session in Geneva to brief UN bodies, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and foreign governments on the alleged atrocities committed by Indian state forces in Jammu and Kashmir during 2016 Kashmir violence. [4] [15]
Parvez was later arrested on 15 September by Indian officials from his home in Srinagar. [16] Later on 16 September 2016, Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society stated that Khurram Parvez has been detained without formal arrest or notifications, and in violation of his rights to information, and legal counsel. [17] [18] [19] On 21 September, a day after a sessions court ordered his release, Khurram Parvez had been detained a second time under Public Safety Act (PSA). [20] [21] On 25 Nov 2016, Jammu Kashmir High Court quashed his detention, even then he was not released from prison. [22] After 76 days of detention, [23] on 30 November he was finally released from prison following the orders [24] of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. [25]
On 22 November 2021, Parvez was arrested by the National Investigation Agency, having been accused of "terror-funding" and "conspiracy". His home and office were raided. [26] [27]
Parvez is married to Sameena Khurram and has a son. [10]
Khurram Parvez was arrested in his home on 15 September 2016, a day after being prevented from leaving the country with a group of rights activists who were traveling to Geneva to raise concerns about violations during the security force crackdown in Jammu and Kashmir to contain violent street protests.
A day after a sessions court ordered his release, the Jammu and Kashmir government invoked the Public Safety Act (PSA) against human rights activist Khurram Parvez.
Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez has been detained a second time, after a court ordered his release from administrative detention on Tuesday.
Parvez said on his Facebook page the 76-day detention was a difficult time for him and his family.
A court in Indian held Kashmir on Friday ordered police to release a prominent Kashmiri human rights activist arrested two months ago on charges of involvement in activities against the public order, saying authorities had no evidence.
A prominent Kashmiri human rights activist who was released from prison on Wednesday said his two-month detention had strengthened his resolve to highlight violations against prisoners in India's restive Himalayan state.