IAMC Welcomes UN Working Group Opinion Declaring Umar Khalid’s Detention Arbitrary and Calling for His Immediate Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 16, 2026) — The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) today welcomed the landmark opinion issued by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), which found that the Government of India’s incarceration of pro-democracy activist Umar Khalid constitutes arbitrary detention in violation of multiple provisions of international human rights law. The opinion (No. 66/2025), adopted at the Working Group’s 104th session was filed by the Human Rights Foundation on behalf of Mr. Khalid.

The Working Group called on India to immediately release Mr. Khalid, provide him with an enforceable right to compensation and reparations, and conduct a full and independent investigation into the violations of his rights.

“This ruling is a resounding indictment of India’s use of draconian counter-terrorism laws to silence peaceful dissent,” said IAMC President Mohammed Jawad. “Umar Khalid has spent more than five years behind bars without a single day of trial, simply for speaking truth to power. The international community has now confirmed what we have said all along that this detention is arbitrary, discriminatory, and a profound violation of his fundamental rights.”

Key Findings of the UN Working Group

The UNWGAD found Mr. Khalid’s detention to be arbitrary under four separate categories:

• No Legal Basis: The courts failed to conduct any individualized assessment of the necessity or reasonableness of continued detention. The Supreme Court failed to hear his bail application for over nine months, with hearings rescheduled more than twelve times due to bench changes and unexplained judicial recusals.
• Exercise of Fundamental Rights:  Khalid was detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association, and participation in public affairs. The Government failed to demonstrate that his advocacy posed any genuine threat to national security or public order.
• Violations of Fair Trial Rights:  Khalid was denied access to legal counsel immediately after arrest, held for over five years without trial commencing, detained alongside convicted prisoners in violation of international standards, and denied the presumption of innocence.
• Discrimination: Khalid was targeted on the basis of his political opinion and his status as a human rights defender working on Muslim minority rights, consistent with a documented pattern of misuse of the UAPA against political dissidents and religious minorities.

Khalid was arrested in 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), India’s draconian anti-terror law, following his rise to prominence as one of the leaders of nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a discriminatory law that excludes Muslims from the right to fast-tracked citizenship.  

Khalid in particular is known globally as a prisoner of conscience, with several global human rights organizations calling for his release, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee of Jurists. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote a personal note to Khalid and eight members of US Congress, led by Representatives Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin, sent a letter to Indian ambassador Vinay Kwatra urging Khalid’s release in accordance with international law. 

Earlier this year,  the Indian Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and denied the right to seek bail for an additional year.

IAMC urges the Government of India to immediately and unconditionally release Umar Khalid in full compliance with the UN Working Group’s opinion, and to provide him with compensation and reparations for the years of unjust imprisonment he has endured. India must also launch an independent investigation into the violations of Khalid’s rights and hold those responsible accountable. More broadly, the IAMC calls on Modi govt to repeal or fundamentally reform the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to bring it into conformity with India’s binding obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and to end the systematic use of national security legislation to target Muslim minorities, human rights defenders, and peaceful political dissidents.