Advocacy groups seek arrest of Modi for war crimes in Kashmir during SA visit for BRICS summit

Advocacy groups seek arrest of Modi for war crimes in Kashmir during SA visit for BRICS summit
Cape Town: As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit South Africa from August 22-24 to attend the 15th BRICS summit, the Muslim Lawyer Association and the South Africa Kashmiri Action Group have jointly lodged a fresh complaint to the National Prosecuting Authority and South African Police Service to arrest, investigate and possibly prosecute Modi for the war crimes his forces are committing in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The complaint spread over 600-pages including records of witnesses and 200 FIRs reports from occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The complaint contains detailed evidences of abduction, tortures, rapes, extra-judicial killing, arson attacks and illegal arrest of political leaders and innocent civilians.

The defining feature of human rights violations in the last 22 years in Jammu and Kashmir has been that the Indian armed forces have leveraged “counter terrorism” to possible war crimes with impunity.

When survivors have approached the authorities to investigate, they have used “counter terrorism” to ineffectively address possible war crimes, and to disregard people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Copies of case files related to allegations of serious human rights violations by the Indian Army have also been submitted urging that an international investigation team be formed in the SAPS under jurisdiction through the Rome Statute, to conduct investigations.

“We reserve the right to elevate this case to the ICC at The Hague under Article 25(3) of the Rome Statute,” the complaint said.

Modi is visiting the Republic of South Africa from August 22-24, 2023 at the invitation of Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, to attend the 15th BRICS Summit being held in Johannesburg under the South African Chairmanship.