The arrest of Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir has prompted British musician Roger Waters to criticise Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Hey Modi, leave Khurram alone!” the British artist posted on his Twitter handle in response to a Twitter activist requesting the human activist’s release.
Hey Modi leave Khurram alone! https://t.co/JD89Ju8C7L
— Roger Waters (@rogerwaters) December 23, 2021
This isn’t the first Walters criticised India’s Modi-led administration. The artist spoke out against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act introduced by the Indian government at a London rally demanding Julian Assange’s release in a video broadcast by Prime Minister Imran Khan in February 2020.
When musicians who have all their lives rallied for peace, start taking notice of the massacres in India, it is time the world must stand up and take notice. Stand up on the right side of history. pic.twitter.com/WdYv4YBSmT
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 27, 2020
Aamir Aziz was introduced as “a young poet and activist in Delhi active in the fight against Modi and his fascist and racist Citizenship Bill” by Roger Waters, who presented his poetry Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega in English.
Parvez is the chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances and the programme coordinator for the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a well-known rights group in the disputed region.
He was arrested on terrorism funding accusations by India’s federal National Investigation Agency (NIA) last month. Officials also took Parvez’s smartphone, laptop, a few books, and his wife’s cellphone, according to his wife.
His arrest has raised concerns with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights’ office. “We are gravely worried about Khurram Parvez’s arrest under Indian counter-terrorism legislation, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA),” it stated in a statement.
After being denied boarding an aircraft to attend a UN human rights meeting in Geneva, Parvez was arrested and held on similar charges in 2016. He was eventually released after he was found not guilty of any crime.
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