Irfan Mehraj
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2023-075-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2023
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 20.593684
Longitude: 78.96288
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- India
- From Region
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
a former associate of the JKCCS, human rights defender and journalist and an OHCHR Minorities Fellow, Mr. Irfan Mehraj
- Type of rights defended
- Caste/Ethnic minorities' rights/Racism
- Unclear in SG Report
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
On 20 March 2023, a former associate of the JKCCS, human rights defender and journalist and an OHCHR Minorities Fellow, Mr. Irfan Mehraj, was arrested under the same case and transferred to New Delhi. Mandate holders noted that former associates and volunteers of the JKCCS face coercion and intimidation from the authorities. Mr. Parvez and Mr. Mehraj are currently detained at the Rohini Jail Complex. If convicted, Mr. Parvez could face up to 14 years of imprisonment or even the death penalty.
- Engagement with UN body
- OHCHR: OHCHR - General
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 20 March 2023
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Kashmir
- Reprisal information
On 20 March 2023, a former associate of the JKCCS, human rights defender and journalist and an OHCHR Minorities Fellow, Mr. Irfan Mehraj, was arrested under the same case and transferred to New Delhi. Mandate holders noted that former associates and volunteers of the JKCCS face coercion and intimidation from the authorities. Mr. Parvez and Mr. Mehraj are currently detained at the Rohini Jail Complex. If convicted, Mr. Parvez could face up to 14 years of imprisonment or even the death penalty.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
- Yes
- Which State raised the case at the UN and when?
Pakistan raised the case in September 2023 at the 54th session of the HRC during interactive dialogue on the report on reprisals; “The Secretary General's report revalidates that as a result of heightened repression, especially during the last four years, the occupied territory today represents a hellscape for civil society actors. We invite the Council's special attention towards the continued illegal detention of brave Kashmiri activists Mr. Khurram Parvez and Mr. Irfan Mehraj, as mentioned in the report.”
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2024
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The situation of the staff and associates of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a union of various non-profit organizations based in Srinagar, has been included since 2017 in the reports111 of the Secretary-General on allegations of travel bans, ill treatment, and arbitrary detention as a result of counter-terrorism charges in relation with their cooperation with United Nations entities and mechanisms.
- The case of Mr. Khurram Parvez, Chair of the JKCCS, and his last arrest in November 2021 on terrorism charges has been addressed on several occasions by mandate holders,112 to which the Government has responded.113 The case of Mr. Irfan Mehraj, JKCCS associate and journalist, was included in the 2023 report of the Secretary-General on allegations of arbitrary arrest in March 2023 in the same case as Mr. Parvez, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
- On 28 March 2023, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deemed Mr. Parvez’s detention in 2021 arbitrary and called for his release (A/HRC/WGAD/23/8). In June 2023, a group of mandate holders addressed once more the situation of Mr. Parvez and Mr. Mehraj and expressed concern at the reported judicial harassment against them, noting that, in their view, the legal situation of Mr. Parvez and Mr. Mehraj would appear to gravely conflate their legitimate human rights work with terrorism (IND 4/2023).
- Reportedly, the judicial detention of Mr. Parvez and Mr. Mehraj has been extended during the period to allow more time for the National Investigation Unit to complete the investigation. In September 2023, the National Investigation Agency reportedly filed a chargesheet claiming that the concerned NGOs and individuals had been collecting funds domestically and from various foreign countries and directing them to sustain and promote terrorist and secessionist activities. At the time of writing, they remain detained at the Rohini Jail Complex and, if convicted, could face up to 14 years of imprisonment or even the death penalty.
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Date of follow up 0
- June 2023
- Did the government respond? 0
- Yes
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic