The United Nations has voiced concern over the arrest of a Kashmiri human rights defender Khurram Parvez as well as recent killings in the Indian-administered region.
“We are unaware of the factual basis of the charges. He is known as a tireless advocate for families of the disappeared and has been targeted before for his human rights work,” UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Rupert Colville said in a statement on Wednesday.
Parvez has now been in custody for more than a week and is accused of terrorism-related offences under India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), according to the UN.
Rise in killings
The UN Human Rights Office said it was increasingly alarmed by the rise this year in the killings of civilians, including members of religious minorities, by armed groups in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“At the same time, civilians have been killed by security forces in the course of counterterrorism operations, and their bodies on occasion disposed of in secret,” said Colville.
This story first appeared on trtworld.com