Amnesty India is the latest target of the Modi government’s assault on civil society. On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate, an agency that looks into financial crimes, raided the organization’s office and froze its bank accounts, effectively stopping its vital human rights work.
Swift on the heels of its assault on Greenpeace India earlier this month, when the environmental group’s bank accounts were frozen, the Indian government is claiming violations of foreign funding regulations to shut down another prominent NGO.
“The Enforcement Directorate’s raid on our office today shows how the authorities are now treating human rights organizations like criminal enterprises, using heavy-handed methods that are commonly found in repressive states. Our staff have been harassed and intimidated,” said Aakar Patel, Amnesty International India’s Executive Director.
“As an organization committed to the rule of law, our operations in India have always conformed with national regulations. The principles of transparency and accountability are at the heart of our work. We have nothing to hide. Everything about our structure has been available in the public domain for all to see.”
The authorities are now treating human rights organizations like criminal enterprises, using heavy-handed methods that are commonly found in repressive states
Aakar Patel, Executive Director, Amnesty India
The ten-hour-long raid began at 1:30pm, Indian Standard Time, on 25 October 2018, when a group of officers from the Enforcement Directorate entered the premises and locked the gates behind them. They ordered the Amnesty India staff to not leave, shut their laptops and not use their mobile phones.
“Even as we were not allowed to leave, and the staff were not allowed to contact their families, our colleagues showed exemplary strength in standing firm,” said Aakar Patel.
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