Amnesty International, an international human rights organisation, has ceased operations in India. The decision was taken in protest of the central government’s freezing of the organisation’s bank accounts.
Amnesty International said in a statement that the accounts of the Indian branch of the organisation had been completely frozen for two years.
Amnesty International has said it will suspend all work and research on the organization, and that the government’s action is based on baseless allegations.
On September 10, all of the organisation’s bank accounts in India were frozen. The government is deliberately targeting and hunting down such human rights groups, the statement said.
However, Amnesty International has been accused of receiving illegal funds from abroad and failing to register under the Foreign Contribution Registration Act.
The central government was widely criticised by Amnesty International for the Delhi riots and the subsequent repeal of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
Avinash Kumar, executive director of the Enforcement Directorate, said in a statement that the staff had been sent back as the accounts had been frozen.