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It says freezing of accounts by the Centre is the newest within the “witch-hunt” of human rights organisations
Amnesty International India on Tuesday stated the federal government had frozen all its financial institution accounts, resulting in all of its work within the nation coming to a halt.
“The complete freezing of Amnesty International India’s bank accounts by the Government of India which it came to know on September 10, 2020, brings all the work being done by the organisation to a grinding halt. The organisation has been compelled to let go of staff in India and pause all its ongoing campaign and research work,” an announcement by the human rights organisation stated.
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The freezing of accounts was the newest within the “witch-hunt” of human rights organisations, the assertion stated.
“The continuing crackdown on Amnesty International India over the last two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental. 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,” Amnesty International India government director Avinash Kumar stated.
Amnesty added that it had complied with all relevant worldwide and Indian legal guidelines. For its work in India, it stated it raised funds domestically and round 1 lakh Indians had contributed financially up to now eight years.
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“These contributions evidently cannot have any relation with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010. The fact that the Government is now portraying this lawful fundraising model as money-laundering is evidence that the overbroad legal framework is maliciously activated when human rights activists and groups challenge the government’s grave inactions and excesses,” the assertion stated.
The launch additional stated that Amnesty International India stood in full compliance with all relevant Indian and worldwide legal guidelines and for human rights work in India, it operates by means of a “distinct model of raising funds domestically”.
The launch additional states that “attacks” on Amnesty International India and different human rights organisations, activists and human rights defenders are “only an extension of the various repressive policies and sustained assault by the government on those who speak truth to power.”
“Treating human rights organisations like criminal enterprises and dissenting individuals as criminals without any credible evidence is a deliberate attempt by the Enforcement Directorate and Government of India to stoke a climate of fear and dismantle the critical voices in India. It reeks of fear and repression, ignores the human cost to this crackdown particularly during a pandemic and violates people’s basic rights to freedom of speech and expression, assembly, and association guaranteed by the Indian Constitution and international human rights law,” stated Mr. Kumar.
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