Amnesty is currently under investigation into alleged irregularities in the receipt of foreign funds.
New Delhi:
Amnesty International has halted operations in India, alleging that its accounts were frozen earlier this month as part of a “witch hunt” by the government because of its unfavorable reports and that it had to let go of its staff.
The government, however, claims that the global rights watchdog illegally received foreign funds and never registered under the Foreign Contributions Act (regulation).
In a press release, Amnesty said that “the complete freezing of Amnesty International India’s bank accounts by the Indian government, which it learned on September 10, has put an end to all work carried out by the organization” . The organization said it was forced to let go of staff in India and suspend all ongoing campaign and research work.
“This is the latest in the Indian government’s relentless witch-hunt by human rights organizations for unsubstantiated and substantiated allegations,” Amnesty said, saying it had complied with all Indian and international laws.
Amnesty has linked all government actions to its reports criticizing the government; its recent reports have raised questions about alleged rights violations during the February riots in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir following the repeal of section 370.
“The continued crackdown on Amnesty International India over the past two years and the complete freezing of bank accounts is not accidental. The constant harassment of government agencies, including the Law Enforcement Directorate, is the result of our unequivocal calls for government transparency, most recently for the accountability of the Delhi Police and the Indian government regarding the serious human rights violations in riots in Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir. For a movement that has only raised its voice against injustice, this latest attack is akin to freezing dissent, ”said Avinash Kumar, executive director of Amnesty International India.
Senior government officials say Amnesty is currently under investigation by the Law Enforcement Directorate into alleged irregularities in receiving foreign funds.
According to the Home Office, the organization “brought money into India through FDI (foreign direct investment)”, which is not allowed in the case of non-profit organizations.
In 2017, the Directorate of Enforcement froze their accounts, after which Amnesty went to court and obtained a stay. But their accounts were sealed. Last year, the CBI also registered a case based on a complaint that Amnesty International UK transferred Rs 10 crore to Amnesty India entities as FDI without ministry approval.
Another Rs 26 crore was handed over to Amnesty (India) mainly by UK based entities without Home Office approval. All of these receipts were then spent on Amnesty NGO activities in India in violation of the FCRA, ”says the complaint.
