Amnesty shuts India operations: UK, USCIRF raise issue with govt

While the British government, like the EU, raised the issue through diplomatic channels, the USCIRF —a consultative body to the US Congress — expressed concern at the reports.

The USCIRF said it is “concerned by reports of the halting of operations of Amnesty India, particularly since it appears related to Amnesty's investigations into and reporting on religious freedom violations in India”. (File)

After the European Union, the UK and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) raised the issue of Amnesty India’s operations being shut down with the Indian government.

While the British government, like the EU, raised the issue through diplomatic channels, the USCIRF —a consultative body to the US Congress — expressed concern at the reports.

When contacted, a British High Commission spokesperson said, “The UK’s Minister for South Asia and our Acting High Commiss-ioner in New Delhi met Indian government representatives after Amnesty International India’s accounts were frozen, to emphasise the importance of organisations like this being able to continue their work. The UK is seeking further information on recent decisions affecting Amnesty and believes the freedom of civil society organisations to operate underpins any functioning democracy.”

The USCIRF said it is “concerned by reports of the halting of operations of Amnesty India, particularly since it appears related to Amnesty’s investigations into and reporting on religious freedom violations in India”. Earlier, EU spokesperson Nabila Massrali had said, “Not prejudging the outcome of any investigation or judicial proceedings, the EU… hopes that the matter will be resolved allowing Amnesty to continue its activities in India without interruption.”

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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