Amnesty India forced to halt operations, alleges “Witch-Hunt” by Modi govt

Amnesty International on Tuesday said that it has stopped its operations in India, alleging that its accounts were frozen earlier in September as part of a crackdown by the Central government. Due to this, the human rights organisation had to let go of most of its employees.

Amnesty International in a press statement said "the complete freezing of Amnesty International India's bank accounts by the government of India, which it came to know on September 10, brings all the work being done by the organization to a grinding halt."

Amnesty said it has been forced to let go of staff in India and stop all its ongoing campaign and research work.

"This is the latest in the incessant witch-hunt of human rights organizations by the government of India over unfounded and motivated allegations," said Amnesty. The organisation claimed that it abided by all Indian and international laws.

Amnesty linked all this action by the government to its reports which have been critical of the present Indian government, raising questions on rights violations during the February Delhi riots and after the end of special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"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 raised its voices against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent," said Avinash Kumar, Executive Director of Amnesty International India.

The Modi government said that the global rights watchdog never registered under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which is required for any foreign funding.

Amnesty International is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate over alleged irregularities in receiving foreign funds.

According to the Home Ministry, Amnesty International "got money into India through the FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) route," which is not allowed in the case of non-profits organisations.

In 2017, the Enforcement Directorate froze their accounts, after which Amnesty approached the court and won some reprieve. But their accounts were sealed. Last year, the CBI also registered a case against them. According to the complaint, Amnesty International UK allegedly remitted Rs 10 crore to Amnesty India entities as FDI without the ministry's approval.