Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) on Monday re-elected the jailed human rights defender Khurram Parvez as the chairperson for the third time.
The federation of human rights organizations that works on the issue of involuntary disappearances in Asia said ‘Parvez ran unopposed and was unanimously elected.’
“We miss Khurram’s presence and wise words at this time and hope to have him with us again soon,” the federation in a statement said.
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The Federation was established on enforced or involuntary disappearances in many Asian countries and the imperative of regional and international solidarity in order to strongly respond to the problem.
On November 22 this year, the National Investigation Agency of India raided Khurram’s house and took his phone, laptop, and books from his study and booked him under terror charges.
Activists across the world condemned his arrest including, The Rafto Foundation, The United Nations Special Rapporteur, Amnesty International, and The World Organization Against Torture.
Khurram has long been a vocal critic of the ruling government, and was arrested for two and a half months in 2016.
Two days before his arrest, the Indian immigration authorities had refused to let Parvez board a flight to Geneva, where he was scheduled to address the United Nations Human Rights Council about India’s human-rights record.
Earlier, when authorities booked him under PSA, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed his detention as “illegal.”
