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On March 20, 2026, journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj marks exactly three years in pre-trial detention in India — arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on March 20, 2023, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on charges that more than 30 civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the CPJ, describe as politically motivated and fabricated.
Arrest by Association
According to the NIA, Mehraj was arrested for being "a close associate of Khurram Parvez" — himself a prominent human rights defender and Program Coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), who has been detained for over four years. Under the UAPA, the Indian state can hold suspects for up to 180 days without charges — and in practice, cases drag on for years without trial.
Mehraj had been working as a journalist covering human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, documenting enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and abuses by security forces. His work had made him a target. Authorities used his professional relationships — not any evidence of illegal acts — as the basis for arrest.
The ongoing detentions of Irfan Mehraj and Khurram Parvez highlight a broader pattern of persecution of human rights defenders and journalists in Jammu and Kashmir. The authorities have used the UAPA — a draconian anti-terror law — to criminalise and silence journalists and human rights defenders.
Joint Statement, 30+ Civil Society Organizations, March 2026
Kashmir Since 2019: A Systematic Crackdown
The repression of journalists and rights defenders in Kashmir worsened significantly after August 2019, when India unilaterally revoked the region's constitutional autonomy and imposed a prolonged internet shutdown. Since then, journalists have been repeatedly summoned for police interrogations, forced to sign bonds pledging not to "disturb peace," and threatened with arrest.
India has consistently failed to respond to concerns raised by UN Special Procedures and international human rights organizations about the situation in Kashmir. Despite being a sitting member of the UN Human Rights Council, New Delhi has dismissed external scrutiny as interference in internal affairs.
International Law and the Call for Release
The 30+ signatory organizations — including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Front Line Defenders, CIVICUS, Reporters Without Borders, and the World Organisation Against Torture — called for the immediate and unconditional release of Mehraj, the repeal of the UAPA and the Public Safety Act (PSA), and the creation of an enabling environment for civil society and media in Kashmir.
They also called on other UN Human Rights Council member states to formally address these violations, noting that a sitting member state imprisoning journalists without trial for years represents a fundamental challenge to the Council's credibility and mandate.
What Our Experts Say
Three years in prison without a trial, under a law that allows it — that is not the justice system functioning. That is the justice system being used as a weapon. India's treatment of Kashmiri journalists and rights defenders is a test of whether the international community has standards that apply to everyone, or only to some.
Senior Human Rights Expert, The Human Rights
Asylum Implications: Political dissidents, civil society activists, and independent journalists from India face persecution on the grounds of political opinion under Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Refugee Convention. The conditions described in this article are directly relevant to asylum and international protection claims. For comprehensive country evidence, see the India country report.
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