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While in NIA custody, Para was reportedly interrogated about the meeting with UN Security Council members and threatened to cease speaking against the government. He was held in a dark underground cell at sub-zero temperature, where he was allegedly deprived of sleep, seriously physically assaulted, including being beaten with rods, stripped naked and hung upside down.On August 20, 2021, the Government of India responded to the note sent by UN Human Rights body and vehemently denied the allegations. It stated that the agency’s actions should be seen as part of the government’s efforts to combat terrorism financing.The report of 2020 referred to a July 2019 OHCHR report on the situation of human rights in Kashmir, on both sides India and Pakistan. The report noted reprisals against Central Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a union of various non-profit organizations based in Srinagar, which regularly cooperates with the UN. Names of additional sources for OHCHR’s report including victims of torture were withheld due to a fear of further reprisals. The situation of JKCCS and its chair Kurram Parvez and other members of the coalition were also included in the 2019, 2018, and 2017 reports.Parvez has been subject to travel bans, arbitrary arrest and detention in relation to his cooperation with the UN. On October 28, 2020, the NIA, J&K Police, and the Central Reserve Police Forces reportedly targeted JKCCS, confiscating laptops, mobile devices and documents ranging from passports to salary trips, as well as hard drives containing surveys, testimonies, report drafts and highly sensitive data collected over decades about human rights violations, victims, and their families. NIA has accused them of ties to terrorism.The situation of Henri Tiphagne from Centre for Promotion of Social Concerns (CPSC, also known as People’s Watch) was included in the 2019 and 2018 reports. CPSC’s license was not renewed under FCRA, which was a clear case of reprisal for cooperating with UN.
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UN Human Rights Council report flags rampant intimidation, reprisal and detention of activists in India
