A group of United Nations experts on Wednesday called on the India to immediately release prominent Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez, who was arrested last month. In a statement released from Geneva on the website of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the group of experts said: “Mr. Parvez is a well-known and outspoken human rights defender who has had a longstanding and positive engagement with the UN human rights mechanisms. “In a democratic society, the open criticism of Government is a legitimate exercise of the right to freedom of expression of every person,” the experts stressed. “We are seriously concerned that the arrest of Mr. Parvez may represent a direct retaliation for his legitimate activities as a human rights defender and the exercise of his fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression and association.”

Source: Hindustan Times October 19, 2016 18:33 UTC