UN body demands immediate release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez
United Nations (UN) human rights experts have demanded the immediate release of Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez by Indian authorities. Parvez has been detained since his arrest in November 2021 under India’s draconian anti-terrorism legislation.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) slammed Parvez’s detention as “arbitrary.” It called on the Indian authorities to immediately release him and to provide him with an “enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”
The WGAD is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate cases of arbitrary detention, consider individual complaints, and adopt opinions on whether or not the detention of an individual is arbitrary. This statement was issued in response to a complaint on Parvez’s behalf, filed jointly by the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), CIVICUS, FORUM-ASIA and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT).
“The UN ruling on Khurram Parvez’s case authoritatively confirms that his detention is an act of reprisal for his human rights work, and an attempt to silence him and Kashmiri civil society as a whole. The Indian authorities must implement the UN’s recommendations and immediately release Khurram,” said Alice Mogwe, FIDH President.
“The arbitrary and unjust detention of Khurram Parvez is not an isolated incident but the result of India’s relentless attacks on those who expose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government’s discriminatory and abusive policies,” said Gerald Staberock, OMCT Secretary General.
Apple employee faces Islamophobic abuse at workplace, resigns
A former employee at Apple in Karnataka state has disclosed his resignation from the tech giant, citing allegations of severe Islamophobic harassment from his coworkers.
In a candid post shared on LinkedIn, Khalid Parvez, who spent 11 years with Apple, expressed his disappointment with Apple’s Human Resources (HR) department regarding various serious issues, including Islamophobic comments, mental harassment, and abusive language.
Parvez specifically called out the company’s HR for dismissing the severity of the harassment he had faced.
“But after 2 months of supposedly ‘thorough’ investigation the #employeerelations comes back with nothing but denial, insensitivity, counter accusations and ended up ridiculing my mental health and family issues,” he wrote in his post.
Regarding the Islamophobic comments he experienced, Parvez said that the ER dismissed his statements, asserting that they lacked substantiation from other employees.
Muslim men brutally beaten by Hindu extremists over suspicion of cattle slaughter
In Hindu supremacist BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh state, a violent mob of Hindu extremists brutally beat up two Muslim men over mere suspicions of cattle slaughter.
Both the men have been hospitalized due to severe injuries.
Recently, a Muslim man was lynched and another injured after they were attacked and beaten by a violent mob of Hindu extremists in Maharashtra state.
Hindu militant mobs have increasingly been targeting Muslims over baseless accusations of crime. These mobs, also known as cow vigilantes, are known for attacking and often lynching Muslims accused of transporting cattle or consuming beef with impunity.
