South Asia Justice Campaign

SAJC is a non partisan movement calling for the protection of human rights, democracy and diversity in India and the wider South Asia region.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

OUT NOW: The latest edition of our INDIA PERSECUTION TRACKER, covering human rights abuses against Muslims and other minorities from January to April, 2026.

See the full edition here: https://t.co/zfhNQKgpIe

[Maktoob @MaktoobMedia]

At least 13 Muslims killed in hate crimes in first quarter of 2026, four by state actors: Report

https://t.co/wImmehusXb

[Maktoob @MaktoobMedia]

In the first four months of 2026, at least 13 Muslims, including two women, a 15-year-old boy, and a 65-year-old man, were killed by Hindu extremist non-state actors in religiously-motivated hate crimes across eight states, India Persecution Tracker data shows.

https://t.co/PyIVDo5IsG

[UK Indian Muslim Council @UKIMCouncil]

1/ How the Hindu supremacist Baratiya Janata Party (BJP) wins elections by disenfranchising voters, mostly Muslims through ‘Special Intensive Revision’ of the voters list. The data shows SIR has played a significant role in its election victory in an Indian state of West Bengal.

[Hindus for Human Rights @Hindus4HR]

The recording is now available for USCIRF’s hearing on Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in India.

This is essential viewing for anyone concerned about democracy, equal citizenship, and religious freedom in India.

https://t.co/9HIlf08n8T

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

During the reporting period, courts acquitted dozens of accused in cases relating to previous episodes of targeted anti-Muslim violence—in each instance, citing the prosecution’s failure to effectively present evidence. Even as some lower level judges delivered moments of institutional courage, their efforts were undermined in myriad ways, including executive defiance, and the increasing reluctance of the Supreme Court to engage meaningfully in contentious issues impacting minorities.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

OUT NOW: The latest edition of our INDIA PERSECUTION TRACKER, covering human rights abuses against Muslims and other minorities from January to April, 2026.

See the full edition here: https://t.co/zfhNQKgpIe

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

None of this would be possible without the complicity of India’s domestic institutions, which continued to fail to ensure effective remedy, protection of rights, or accountability for abuses—and in many cases, actively obstructed them.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

NEW: The Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE)'s new report finds that in both Assam and Uttar Pradesh, the Chief Ministers bear responsibility for the direction and supervision of the violations documented in the report.

Read the full report: https://t.co/erlqRkzDn7

Both hold the Home Minister portfolio, exercising ultimate authority over the police and executive machinery — while themselves leading the rhetoric against Muslims in their jurisdictions. Their public endorsement of coercive measures has operated as a permissive signal for mobilisation and violence by non-state actors.

Yet the remedial framework in both states appears to be largely ineffective for Muslims, particularly in relation to serious violations. Individuals affected have no realistic prospect of securing justice through existing domestic mechanisms.

The Panel comprises @SBiserko, @MarzukiDrsmn, and Stephen Rapp — who between them have led UN investigations and international criminal prosecutions relating to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and North Korea.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

NEW: The Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE)'s new report finds reasonable basis to believe that persecution as a crime against humanity is being committed against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh — on three separate grounds.

Read the full report: https://t.co/erlqRkzDn7

First, the widespread and institutionalised pattern of anti-Muslim hate speech may amount to persecution, insofar as it reflects the intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights on religious grounds as part of a widespread or systematic attack against Muslims.

Second, the official targeting of Muslims protesting discrimination — including mass arrests, punitive demolitions, and 'half-encounter' shootings in Sambhal and Bareilly — may also amount to persecution as a crime against humanity.

Third, the targeting of Muslims in trades and occupations related to meat — including killings and maimings in the name of cow protection, mass arrests, custodial torture involving forced chanting of Hindu religious slogans, slaughterhouse shutdowns destroying livelihoods, and the expansion of meat bans near areas considered holy by Hindus — may also amount to persecution.

The Panel notes that underlying acts of persecution must be considered cumulatively and in context: a state where the government has pursued a host of legislative and administrative measures targeting Muslims, policing displays significant anti-Muslim bias, and senior office-holders including the Chief Minister and Prime Minister have engaged in anti-Muslim hate speech.

The Panel comprises @SBiserko, @MarzukiDrsmn, and Stephen Rapp — who between them have led UN investigations and international criminal prosecutions relating to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and North Korea.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

NEW: The Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE)'s new report finds reasonable basis to believe that persecution as a crime against humanity is being committed against Bengali-speaking Muslims in Assam — on two separate grounds.

Read the full report: https://t.co/erlqRkzDn7

First, the cumulative and institutionalised pattern of hate speech may amount to persecution, insofar as it reflects the intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights by reason of group identity as part of a widespread or systematic attack. Since 2022, senior political leaders led by the Chief Minister have repeatedly characterised Bengali-speaking Muslims as an existential threat, invoked imagery of violent confrontation and demographic replacement, encouraged social and economic exclusion, and legitimised armed 'self-defence' in Muslim-concentration areas.

Second, the large-scale pattern of forced evictions and home demolitions targeting Bengali-speaking Muslims may also amount to persecution as a crime against humanity. International jurisprudence recognises that the comprehensive destruction of homes and property amounting to a destruction of the livelihood of a population meets the definition of persecution.

The Panel comprises @SBiserko, @MarzukiDrsmn, and Stephen Rapp — who between them have led UN investigations and international criminal prosecutions relating to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and North Korea.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

NEW: The Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE)'s new report finds reasonable basis to believe that the deportation and forcible transfer of Bengali-speaking Muslims from Assam may amount to a crime against humanity — and that there remains a risk of continued commission.

Read the full report: https://t.co/erlqRkzDn7

At least 2,450 individuals have been expelled from Assam since May 2025, including around 100 Rohingya refugees formerly held at Matia transit camp. Accounts describe beatings, threats, and people being forced at gunpoint to cross the border into Bangladesh. Hundreds more have been rounded up in different parts of India and transported to Assam to be detained and/or deported. The Chief Minister has indicated that expulsions of '10,000 to 50,000' individuals were possible in 2026.

The Panel finds that, in light of the serious procedural infirmities and discriminatory operation of citizenship determination processes, those removed cannot credibly be regarded as unlawfully present — a critical element of the crime of deportation under the Rome Statute.

The Panel comprises @SBiserko, @MarzukiDrsmn, and Stephen Rapp — who between them have led UN investigations and international criminal prosecutions relating to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and North Korea.

[South Asia Justice Campaign @CampaignSAJ]

NEW: The Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE)'s new report documents a pattern of extrajudicial killings by police in both Assam and Uttar Pradesh, with zero accountability.

Read the full report: https://t.co/erlqRkzDn7

In Assam, at least 83 people were killed in police 'encounter' operations between May 2021 and January 2024. Over 45 of those killed — approximately 54% — were Bengali-speaking Muslims, despite Muslims comprising 34% of the state population. Police accounts follow a recurring template: claims that victims attempted to flee or seize a weapon, routine filing of FIRs against the deceased, and absence of independent investigation. None of the police officers involved have been held accountable.

In Uttar Pradesh, at least 266 people have been killed in police 'encounters' since 2017 under CM Adityanath. Muslims accounted for 32% of fatalities despite being 19.3% of the state population. Zero FIRs have been registered against police personnel. The Panel finds that these killings have been normalised rather than treated as a last resort — with those involved being lauded and sometimes promoted.

The Panel comprises @SBiserko, @MarzukiDrsmn, and Stephen Rapp — who between them have led UN investigations and international criminal prosecutions relating to Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and North Korea.