Amnesty India says it has been compelled to halt work as government freezes its bank accounts

September 29, 2020

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Human rights defenders are facing an ‘incessant witch-hunt’, the organisation alleged.

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Amnesty India says it has been compelled to halt work as government freezes its bank accounts

File photo of the Amnesty International office in Bengaluru. | Manjunath Kiran/AFP

Human rights organisation Amnesty International India on Tuesday announced that it has been “compelled to let go off staff in India” and stop all its work as its bank accounts have been frozen. In a statement, the organisation called the government’s move to freeze its bank accounts a witch-hunt “over unfounded and motivated allegations”.

“The continuing crackdown on Amnesty International India over the last two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental,” said Amnesty International India Executive Director Avinash Kumar. “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 & Kashmir. For a movement that has done nothing but raise its voices against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent.”