Kashmiri Rights Defender Khurram Parvez and Journalist Irfan Mehraj Released on Bail

NEW DELHI/SRINAGAR: Prominent Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez and journalist-researcher Irfan Mehraj have been released from a New Delhi prison after spending years in detention under India’s anti-terrorism law.

The two men walked free late on Wednesday, July 22, after a Delhi court granted them bail in a case filed by India’s National Investigation Agency over alleged “terror funding” through civil-society organisations. Both Parvez and Mehraj have denied the allegations. International human rights organisations have described the proceedings as politically motivated and linked the arrests to their legitimate human rights and journalistic work.

Parvez, a programme coordinator with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, was first arrested by the NIA in November 2021. Mehraj, an independent journalist who had also worked with the coalition as a researcher, was arrested in Srinagar on March 20, 2023, after being summoned for questioning.

According to the International Federation for Human Rights, Parvez had spent 1,703 days in detention without trial, while Mehraj had been imprisoned for 1,219 days by the time of their release.

Released Under Strict Restrictions

Although the men have been granted bail, their release is subject to extensive court-imposed restrictions.

The Delhi High Court refused an NIA request to immediately suspend the bail order but imposed additional conditions while the agency’s appeal remains pending. Under the order, Parvez and Mehraj must remain in the National Capital Territory of Delhi unless they receive prior court permission to travel. They are therefore unable to return to their homes and families in Kashmir.

They must also report to the NIA headquarters on Lodhi Road in New Delhi twice every week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The court further barred them from participating in activities connected to the allegations in the case, associating with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society or organisations linked to the case, attending physical or virtual gatherings concerning similar issues, and circulating posts, publications, leaflets, posters or banners.

They have also been prohibited from communicating with co-accused individuals or others named in the case record, apart from close relatives and family members.

The original bail conditions required each man to submit a personal bond of 200,000 Indian rupees, with two sureties of the same amount, surrender any passport and remain within Delhi without prior court approval.

Their trial will continue, and the Delhi High Court is still considering the NIA’s appeal against the decision to grant bail.

NIA Allegations Denied

The NIA alleges that Parvez and Mehraj used the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society to promote a separatist political agenda, collect foreign funds and financially support individuals associated with armed groups.

The agency has accused Parvez of using human rights reporting as a cover for activities against the Indian state and has alleged that Mehraj assisted him as a researcher and associate.

Both men have denied the accusations. Their lawyers and international rights organisations maintain that the case criminalises human rights documentation and independent journalism in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The lower court that granted bail noted that much of the prosecution case depended on oral witness testimony whose credibility would have to be tested during trial. It also observed that charges had not yet been framed and that the proceedings were unlikely to conclude in the near future.

The Delhi High Court, while allowing their release, said the lower court should also have examined documentary evidence cited by the NIA and the specific restrictions on bail contained in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. However, it declined to suspend the bail orders and instead imposed additional restrictions.

International Campaign for Their Release

Parvez and Mehraj’s imprisonment drew sustained condemnation from international human rights organisations, journalism groups and United Nations experts.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international organisations repeatedly sought their release, arguing that they had been detained because of their work documenting alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.

Following their release, the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation Against Torture called on Indian authorities to drop all charges against the two men. The groups described the accusations as “trumped-up” and said the proceedings were intended to discredit their work and that of the JKCCS.

The rights organisations welcomed their release but expressed concern that the stringent bail conditions would continue to restrict their freedom of movement, expression and association.

JKCCS and Human Rights Documentation

The Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society has been among the most prominent independent human rights groups working in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

For years, the organisation documented allegations of torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and unmarked graves. Its reports also examined the legal protections and wide-ranging powers granted to Indian armed forces operating in the disputed region.

Parvez, who lost a leg in a landmine explosion in 2004, became internationally known for documenting violations and supporting the families of victims. His arrest in 2021 was widely viewed by rights groups as part of a broader effort to silence civil society organisations in Kashmir.

Mehraj worked as a journalist for several independent publications and reported on politics, society and human rights. He also contributed research to JKCCS before his arrest.

Crackdown Since 2019

The arrests took place amid a wider crackdown on political leaders, journalists, lawyers, civil-society groups and human rights defenders following the Indian government’s decision on August 5, 2019, to revoke Jammu and Kashmir’s limited constitutional autonomy and divide the region into two federally controlled territories.

Since then, Indian authorities have used anti-terrorism and preventive-detention laws against a growing number of journalists, activists and political workers. Media organisations and human rights groups say the measures have created a climate of fear and severely restricted independent reporting in the region.

India maintains that its measures are necessary to counter militancy and prevent funding or support for armed organisations. Critics argue that broadly worded security laws are increasingly being used to criminalise dissent, journalism and human rights advocacy.

Release Brings Relief, but Case Continues

The release of Parvez and Mehraj has brought relief to their families and supporters, but it does not end the legal proceedings against them.

They remain separated from Kashmir, must report regularly to the NIA and are barred from resuming much of the human rights and public-interest work for which they were known.

Their case will therefore remain a significant test of press freedom, civil-society space and the use of anti-terrorism legislation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

For rights organisations, their release after years without trial represents an important but incomplete victory. The charges remain, the restrictions remain in force, and the Indian government’s broader campaign against dissenting voices in Kashmir continues.