Umar Khalid’s Incarceration: USCIRF Commissioner expresses concern over use of anti-terrorism laws to silence activists; calls for India’s CPC designation
Press Release | IAMC | 20 October 2023
Washington, D.C. (October 19, 2023) – At a Congressional briefing on the wrongful incarceration of Indian Muslim activist Umar Khalid, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Commissioner Eric Ueland called Khalid a “staunch defender of religious minorities” who “peacefully protested… discriminatory legislation.”
Ueland demanded that the United States take seriously the extensive reports of India’s use of draconian anti-terrorism laws to silence activists from minority faith backgrounds. He further called on the State Department to designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for egregious violations of religious freedoms.
“We strongly urge policy recommendations that take these abuses seriously, especially the importance of the United States in its designation of India as a CPC in the coming months, and not let India off the hook from the consequences of a CPC designation with some sort of scummy waiver,” said Ueland.
On September 13, 2020, Umar Khalid was falsely charged with terrorism and arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after Indian authorities accused him of inciting communal violence following a speech he delivered during nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The CAA is a law that discriminates against Muslims and excludes them from being able to receive fast-tracked Indian citizenship. In his speech, Khalid had called for nonviolent resistance against the far-right government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).