IAMC Urges UN Special Rapporteur to Act on India’s Escalating Attacks on Human Rights Defenders
New York City, NY (October 17, 2025 ) – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) has urged the attention of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, to the growing repression and criminalization of human rights defenders (HRDs) in India, who continue to face false prosecutions, harassment, intimidation, and imprisonment for their peaceful work.
IAMC’s Advocacy Director, Ajit Sahi, met with Ms. Lawlor at the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations in New York City this week to convey the organization’s concerns and submit recommendations on the situation of HRDs in India.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ongoing session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where Ms. Lawlor is attending to present her latest report.
During the meeting, IAMC commended Ms. Lawlor’s courageous work in bringing global attention to the Indian government’s escalating attacks on activists, journalists, and civil society organizations.
The discussion focused on several pressing issues, including the persecution of human rights defenders in India’s eastern state of Chhattisgarh, who have been unfairly targeted by law enforcement agencies under the pretext of countering Maoist insurgency.
Mr. Sahi also raised the cases of Umar Khalid and other activists who have been imprisoned for over five years in New Delhi without trial under false charges of inciting anti-Muslim violence in the nation’s capital. Sahi described their continued detention as a severe miscarriage of justice and a violation of international human rights obligations.
He further highlighted the Indian government’s transnational repression operations targeting Indian critics and human rights advocates abroad, including in the United States. Mr. Sahi cited the ongoing criminal prosecution in New York City of an Indian national who has been charged by the US Government of carrying out a murder-for-hire plot against a Sikh American lawyer critical of the Indian government.
Ms. Lawlor assured that her office is fully cognizant of these issues and is taking appropriate steps to address these violations through the mechanisms available under the UN system.
The Indian American Muslim Council reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the global community of human rights defenders and to working with international bodies to hold the Indian government accountable for systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
