Amnesty International shuts down operations in India

NEW DELHI: The bank accounts of Amnesty International’s India office has been frozen by the Indian authorities.

On 10th September 2020 Amnesty International India came to know that all its bank accounts were completely frozen by the Enforcement Directorate bringing most of the work of the human rights organization to a grinding halt.

Indian authorities have frozen the bank accounts of Amnesty International’s India office, forcing it to halt operations. This crackdown on @AIIndia is yet more evidence that PM Modi’s government is failing to uphold freedom of speech and association.https://t.co/Ijg647C0w4 pic.twitter.com/HqLOWMcGma

— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) September 29, 2020

The organisation has been compelled to let go of staff in India and pause all its ongoing campaign and research work. The decision can make 150 employees losing their jobs.

Read more: Religious intolerance rising across South Asia: Amnesty International

In a press statement, AI’s India office has said, “On 10 September 2020, Amnesty International India came to know that all its bank accounts were completely frozen by the Enforcement Directorate bringing most of the work of the human rights organization to a grinding halt.”

It blamed ‘reprisal’ from the government for winding down its operations, adding, “This is latest in the incessant witch-hunt of human rights organizations by the Government of India over unfounded and motivated allegations.”

It is to be noted that the organisation in recent years has been working on five main projects i.e. business and human rights, individuals at risk, gender-based violence, human rights education, and access to justice in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.