In a sudden move on Tuesday morning, Amnesty International announced the halting of India operations and said it had to let go of its staff after its accounts were frozen earlier this month as part of what it called a ‘witch-hunt’ by the government over its adverse reports.
An a statement, Amnesty said, “The complete freezing of Amnesty International India’s bank accounts by the Government of India, which it came to know on September 10, 2020, brings all the work being done by the organisation to a grinding halt. The organisation has been compelled to let go of staff in India and pause all its ongoing campaign and research work.”
“The continuing crackdown on Amnesty International India over the last two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental. The constant harassment by government agencies including the Enforcement Directorate is a result of our unequivocal calls for transparency in the government, more recently for accountability of the Delhi police and the Government of India regarding the grave human rights violations in Delhi riots and Jammu and Kashmir. For a movement that has done nothing but raise its voices against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent,” said Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International, India.
“For human rights work in India, it operates through a distinct model of raising funds domestically. More than four million Indians have supported Amnesty International India’s work in the last eight years and around 1,00,000 Indians have made financial contributions,” said Amnesty.
“The fact that the Government is now portraying this lawful fundraising model as money-laundering is evidence that the overbroad legal framework is maliciously activated when human rights activists and groups challenge the government’s grave inactions and excesses,” Amnesty said.
According to the home ministry, the organisation “got money into India through the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) route,” which is not allowed in case of non-profits. Also, the halt of Amnesty operations comes days after the Parliament passed the FCRA Act.
