By TCN News,
Dublin (Ireland): Pointing out that the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) decided to refer human rights defenders Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation on June 26, 2015, the Front Line Defenders have demanded that any investigation into their or their NGO be grounded on objective evidence and are carried out in proper legal manner, including ending of attempts to open multiple parallel investigations.
“This latest action increases the pressure on the human rights defender as she attempts to continue her legitimate human rights work. The series of investigations against Setalvad, which appear to be politically motivated, began in January 2014, and have resulted in continuous harassment and systematic probes into the accounts of Setalvad’s NGO and groundless accusations of non-cooperation,” Front Line Defenders has said in a release here.
Front Line Defenders is the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. It was founded in Dublin in 2001 with the specific aim of protecting human rights defenders at risk, people who work, non-violently, for any or all of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Front Line Defenders addresses the protection needs identified by defenders themselves.
Setalvad, a journalist, is the founder of Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP). Sabrang Trust was established after the 1992-1993 communal violence in Mumbai and works to promote conflict resolution and support peace building. CJP was established in April 2002, in the immediate aftermath of Gujarat riots to provide legal aid to the survivors of the riots.
The MHA on June 26, 2015 decided that the investigation against Setalvad and her husband would be carried forward by the CBI as a criminal case. “The decision grants the state bureau the power to probe into foreign funds received by Setalvad’s NGO without registration or prior permission as established under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act 2010. This decision was made by the Ministry of Home Affairs without any judicial approval and despite ongoing proceedings before the Supreme Court concerning allegations of forgery and criminal breach of trust against the human rights defender, the next hearing for which is scheduled for July 7, 2015,” the release said.
“Since the commencement of the investigations into Setalvad, her husband and her organisations in January 2014 the bank accounts of Setalvad’s Sabrang Communication and Publishing Private Limited (SCPPL) have been frozen, and the state investigators have directed the bank authorities not to allow further credit or withdrawal of foreign contributions from the accounts without its permission. Setalvad has been continuously accused of non-cooperation with the investigation, although she has repeatedly expressed her willingness to fully cooperate, and supported the inspection team during the detailed investigation into the records of both the CJP and Sabrang Trust, which took place between April 6 and 8, 2015,” it pointed out.
“The harassment comes in the context of broader judicial proceedings against Setalvad and her spouse, based on charges of alleged embezzlement of funds intended for the construction of a memorial to the victims of the 2002 Gujarat riots. Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the latest development in the investigation against Teesta Setalvad, as it believes the referral of the case to the CBI to be an attempt to intensify the harassment of the human rights defender, and to repress her legitimate work in the defence of human rights,” it said.
Therefore, in this context, Front Line Defenders also demanded a guarantee in all circumstances that “all human rights defenders in India are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions.”