Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj freed on bail after years in prison

Indian authorities have released prominent Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj on bail after years in prison on terrorism-financing charges. The two men walked free from a jail in New Delhi late on Wednesday, according to relatives, but remain subject to strict court-imposed restrictions. The National Investigation Agency is seeking to overturn the bail order, keeping the case active in the coming weeks.

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Parvez, who serves as programme coordinator for the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, was arrested in 2021 at his home in Srinagar. Mehraj, a freelance journalist who had worked with the same rights group as a researcher, was arrested in 2023. Both men face charges of funding terrorism and promoting a secessionist agenda under India's anti-terrorism laws, and both deny the allegations.

A lower court granted them bail last week, and the Delhi High Court refused on Tuesday to suspend the release order while the appeal is heard. The court has imposed tighter conditions on their movements and activities while the legal challenge continues. Under the bail terms, they must arrange their own accommodation in the capital, where they are facing trial, and they cannot travel to Kashmir, according to a court document seen by AFP.

The restrictions mean that although they are no longer in custody, they remain under close judicial supervision. The next hearings are expected in the coming weeks. The case sits within a broader crackdown in India-administered Kashmir that rights groups say intensified after 2019, when New Delhi removed the region's autonomy under the Indian Constitution.

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Parvez and Mehraj are among the most prominent figures to face prosecution in that environment. Their release on bail is therefore significant not only for the individuals involved, but also for campaigners who say the legal process has been used to silence dissent in the region. The Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society has for years documented alleged rights violations by Indian government forces in Kashmir, including torture, unlawful killings and suspected enforced disappearances.

It has also drawn attention to thousands of unmarked graves in border areas. International rights groups, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have repeatedly called for the men's release, arguing that they were jailed for their work rather than any criminal conduct. What remains unclear is whether the National Investigation Agency will succeed in overturning the bail order, and how the courts will balance the appeal against the current release conditions.

The case will continue in the coming weeks, with the men required to stay in New Delhi and remain available to the court. The outcome is likely to be watched closely by rights advocates, journalists and legal observers following Kashmir-related prosecutions.

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