Human rights organisations Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) have moved the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) against the continued detention of Kashmiri journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj.
In an individual complaint submitted on January 30, the groups urged the WGAD to declare Mehraj’s detention arbitrary and in violation of international law.
Mehraj, an independent journalist who has contributed to both international and local media outlets, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency on March 20, 2023. Nearly three years later, he remains in prolonged pre-trial detention at Tihar Jail. Courts have repeatedly extended his detention, his bail plea remains pending, and his trial is yet to begin.
Calling the case an example of “trial by jail,” HRF Legal and Research Officer Hannah Van Dijcke said dissidents in India are subjected to indefinite pre-trial detention, where the legal process itself becomes a form of punishment.
Investigating agencies allege that Mehraj’s detention is linked to his earlier association with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), accusing him of terrorism and secessionism under the so-called “NGO terror funding case.”
The allegations are part of a broader probe initiated in 2020 against JKCCS and several other Kashmiri non-governmental organisations, an investigation that has drawn criticism from international observers, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez continues to remain in custody in connection with the same case.
FORUM-ASIA executive director Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso described Mehraj’s continued detention as a serious violation of the rights of journalists and human rights defenders. She said the detention appears to be retaliatory in nature for Mehraj’s legitimate journalistic and human rights work, and reflects a wider pattern of persecution against independent voices in Indian-administered Kashmir. She added that, together with the continued detention of Khurram Parvez, the case underscores India’s failure to safeguard freedom of expression and meet its international human rights obligations.
In their submission, HRF and FORUM-ASIA have urged the WGAD to investigate Mehraj’s case, declare his detention arbitrary and unlawful, and call on the Indian government to immediately and unconditionally release him.