U.S. Human Rights Groups Demand Sanctions on Indian Officials Over Transnational Repression in North America
Washington, D.C. (November 1, 2024) — In a letter sent today to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Commerce Janet Yellen, IAMC and a broad over 20 coalition of human rights and interfaith organizations — including Council for American Islamic Relations, Sikh Coalition, New York State Council of Churches and Hindus for Human Rights — called on the U.S. government to sanction Indian Home Secretary Amit Shah, Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, and other Indian individuals and entities complicit in illegal extortion and assassination operations in the US and Canada.
Under the Global Magnitsky Act, the US may impose sanctions on any individual who violates “internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, expression, association, and assembly, and the rights to a fair trial and democratic elections.”
“Amit Shah and Ajit Doval’s orchestration of violence against Indian religious minorities extends throughout India and now into North America. It constitutes clear grounds for sanction under the Global Magnitsky Act,” said IAMC Executive Director Rasheed Ahmed. “American legislators should take note of the transnational repression and risk he poses to religious freedoms and security everywhere and sanction them accordingly.”
Earlier this week, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said they had found evidence Amit Shah had authorized the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was murdered in Vancouver in 2023. RMCP investigations also tied India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, along with other Indian agents, to the assassination, other homicides, violent acts, interference in Canada’s democratic process, and the use of organized crime to target the South Asian community in Canada.
The Washington Post revealed that former Indian Research Analysis Wing (RAW) chief and current National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was linked to the assassination of New York-based Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Sanctioning Shah and Doval would be consistent with the United States recently announced action putting 19 Indian private firms and 2 Indian nationals on a list of entities and individuals who will face sanctions for allegedly aiding Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine. Aimed at suppressing the use of third countries to circumvent restrictions on abetting Russia’s military campaign, the sanctions send a clear message that the U.S. will not tolerate Indian cooperation with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“We must continue to provide accountability for Indian political actors who endanger human rights internationally,” said IAMC President Mohamed Jawad. “If we sanction Indian actors for violating the rights of Ukrainians, we must do the same for those who violate American lives.”
Sunita Viswanath, Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, said that “measures must be taken to protect citizens in the U.S. from government actors who endanger them simply for exercising their democratic rights. International agents must be held accountable for suppressing voices of freedom in both Canada and the U.S. No one should live in fear of extrajudicial violence from foreign agents simply for speaking out.”
Deepali Gill, Federal Policy Manager at Sikh Coalition said, “The actions of the U.S. and Canadian governments, as well as public investigative reporting, indicate more and more that recent transnational repression against Sikhs is not a series of one-off events, but instead a coordinated campaign being directed by more senior individuals in the Indian government. Sanctions on these leaders would be a strong step towards not just accountability for past misdeeds, but deterrence against further harmful behavior that violates Sikhs’ civil rights and U.S. sovereignty.”
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) applauds the efforts of the U.S. government to provide accountability to individuals providing material support for Russian human rights abuses in Ukraine and calls on the U.S. to expand these targeted sanctions to other Indian officials who threaten the security and human rights of Indian nationals.
