Amnesty International India shuts down, accuses Centre of ‘witch-hunt’

Amnesty International India Shuts Down : The international human rights organization Amnesty International has announced the closure of its work in India. Amnesty has taken this decision recently after freezing the accounts of the ED ED's organization. The ED started a separate investigation after an FIR lodged by another investigating agency CBI last year.

Amnesty was accused of violating the FCRA statute about receiving foreign donations.

In a statement, Amnesty has blamed "retaliatory action of the government" for shutting down its work.

Amnesty has said, "On 10 September, Amnesty International India came to know that the ED has frozen all its bank accounts, which has stalled most of the work of the human rights organization."

He further wrote, "This is a fresh link to the campaign against the human rights organizations based on the baseless and specific allegations made by the Government of India".

According to Amnesty, their bank accounts have been frozen and they have had to lay off all their work in the country by firing their employees.

The Indian government has not yet commented on the allegations.

Rajat Khosla, Amnesty International's senior research director in India, said that he was facing unprecedented harassment from the government, including "systematic attacks, threats and harassment.

In 2019, Amnesty presented its inquiry about Kashmir during a hearing on the state of human rights in South Asia in front of a committee on foreign affairs in the US.Amnesty has been repeatedly criticizing the government saying that discontent is being suppressed in India.

In August 2016, a case of treason was filed against Amnesty India alleging that one of its programs raised anti-India slogans. Three years later, these charges were dismissed by a court.

In October 2018, ED raided Amnesty's Bangalore offices. Even then his accounts were frozen, but Amnesty said that after the intervention of the court, he got the approval of the transaction from the account.

Then in 2019, according to the institution, a notice was sent by the Income Tax Department to the donors of its dozens. This year, his offices were raided again, but this time the raid was carried out by the CBI.

Amnesty International had also found it difficult during the tenure of the Congress-led coalition government earlier.

Even in 2009, he postponed his work in India. Then the institution said that its license was being revoked repeatedly to collect donations from abroad.

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