In August 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK).Indian forces killed at least eight people in IAK. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, Indian Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) carried out multiple raids, seizures, and cordon-and-search operations in IAK, resulting in at least five deaths and numerous arbitrary detentions. Media censorship and repression targeting journalists continued, including through the Indian government’s forcible silencing and closure of The Kashmir Walla. The Jammu and Kashmir administration expanded the already extensive system of physical and digital surveillance in IAK through a new identification system. The administration also continued to escalate forced demographic change in theregion through the construction of 6,000 transit accommodations for “migrants” employed by the government. Indian authorities’ broad denial of the right to free expression continued, including through the suspension of a public sector teacher for testifying in a case before India’s Supreme Court challenging the 2019 “abrogation” of Article 370 of India’s constitution and the commencement of criminal proceedings against people protesting new, discriminatory laws favored by India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In July 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least twelve people in IAK, including an infant Rohingya refugee. The Jammu & Kashmir administration continued to crack down on free expression, including by continuing to terminate public sector employees who purportedly hold dissenting or disfavored views and eliminating celebrated Kashmiri literature from university curricula. The administration also continued to target human rights defenders and dissenters in IAK, including through the cancellation of passports. The administration continued to escalate forced demographic change in the region, including through the announced distribution of public land to 199,000 people. Numerous Kashmiri journalists, human rights defenders, political activists and dissenters continue to be arbitrarily detained. Indian authorities continue to use the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act, 1978 (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as tools for persecution, including through preventative, prolonged and repeated detentions. In a case emblematic of the repression of Kashmiri journalists, Aasif Sultan, arbitrarily detained on August 27, 2018, remains illegally imprisoned. As of the date of this publication, Sultan has been detained for 1,814 days. In a case emblematic of the repression of Kashmiri human rights defenders and civil society, Khurram Parvez, arbitrarily detained on November 22, 2021, remains illegally imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in New Delhi. As of the date of this publication, Parvez has been detained for 631 days.

In June 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces killed at least 17 people in IAK. One individual was killed as a consequence of forced labor, a longstanding and systematic violation in IAK. Additionally, the Jammu & Kashmir administration continued to escalate forced demographic change in IAK by domiciling thousands of non-locals and systematically dispossessing local residents through property expropriation drives. The administration also continued to target human rights defenders and dissenters in IAK, firing two doctors for revealing evidence of an official cover-up in the rape-murder case of two Kashmiri women killed by Indian forces in 2009. The Indian government also continued to escalate its disinformation regarding IAK, including by unveiling a map in its new parliamentary building which depicts a Hindu supremacist, expansionist map of an imaginary “undivided India.” In a case emblematic of the repression targeting Kashmiri journalists, Aasif Sultan, arbitrarily detained on August 27, 2018, remains illegally imprisoned. As of the date of this publication, Sultan has been detained for 1,790 days. In a case emblematic of the repression targeting Kashmiri human rights defenders and civil society, Khurram Parvez, arbitrarily detained on November 22, 2021, remains illegally imprisoned in a maximum-security facility in New Delhi. As of the date of this publication, Parvez has been detained for 607 days. Notably, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) released a detailed legal opinion in June 2023 demonstrating that Parvez is arbitrarily detained.

In May 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). The G20 Tourism Working Group meeting was held in Srinagar, Kashmir from May 22-25, drawing widespread criticism. During the meeting, Indian authorities made false claims that the Kashmiri press enjoyed “absolute freedoms” and dismissed criticism regarding the human rights situation in IAK. Leading up to the meeting, the Indian government heightened security checks, increased raids and arbitrary arrests, and closed schools and stores. There was also an increase in reported extrajudicial killings, with Indian forces killing at least 12 people in IAK. Meanwhile, political and economic disempowerment continued in the region. For a summary of the human rights impact of the G20 meetings in Srinagar, please see ANNEX: Reported Human Rights Consequences of the G20 in IAK.

In March 2023, Indian authorities continued to commit grave human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir (IAK). Indian forces committed at least three extrajudicial killings. In addition, Indian authorities claimed to recover the mutilated corpse of Abdul Rashid Dar whom Indian forces abducted and forcibly disappeared in December 2022. Additionally, the Jammu & Kashmir administration continued its repression of the freedom of expression and violations of the social, economic, cultural, and political rights of Kashmiris. The administration continued its escalated campaign of expropriation and systematic dispossession of locals’ property through pretextual “anti-encroachment” drives. Two developments involving the Indian central government are expected to contribute to continued grave violations in IAK. First, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that mere membership in an association deemed unlawful by Indian authorities is sufficient grounds for prosecution under India's counterterror laws. Second, Indian authorities are actively procuring alternatives to the NSO Group’s Pegasus software. Indian authorities intensified their repression of human rights work in IAK through the arrest of human rights defender Irfan Mehraj and a second arrest of human rights defender Khurram Parvez in an ongoing case againt a leading human rgights organization, the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). This case against JKCCS is unique in that it criminalizes a leading human rights organization for doing human rights work per se.