The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has accused India of misusing its anti-terrorism law, the UAPA, to detain religious minorities, and has called for the release of people held for their freedom of religion or belief. Among them are rights activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
Khalid and Imam have been held for nearly six years in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, and their trial has still not begun.
The commission made the call after the Delhi High Court recently granted bail to British national Jagtar Singh Johal in a UAPA case. Johal was arrested in Punjab in 2017 and is accused over several killings and attempted killings in 2016-17.
The commission says the charges against Johal are false and that his case is an example of a wider pattern of repression of religious minorities in India. In its 2026 report, it also recommended designating India a “country of particular concern”.
India has in the past rejected USCIRF reports as “biased and politically motivated”. There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the latest statement.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report