Amnesty India’s bank accounts were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday and Friday. Amnesty India alleged that it is the latest target of the government’s assault on civil society in the country. It maybe recalled that the accounts of Greenpeace India were frozen earlier this month.

“Government authorities are increasingly treating human rights organizations like criminal enterprises”, said Aakar Patel and added “As an organization committed to the rule of law, our operations in India have always conformed with our national regulations. The principles of transparency and accountability are at the heart of our work.”

Around 1:30 pm on 25 October, a group of officers from the Enforcement Directorate entered Amnesty International India premises and locked the gates. Amnesty staffers told News Basics that the ED Officials ordered the Amnesty India staff to remain in office, shut their laptops, and not use their mobile phones.

The focus of the Enforcement Directorate’s questioning was the relationship between two entities: Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd and Amnesty International India Foundation.

Most of the documents asked for during the search were available in the public domain or were already filed with the relevant authorities. Amnesty spokesperson said that the details of  current structure, which was the focus of much of the questioning, have been available on the website since 2014.

However, ahead of the raids, the Indian authorities leaked a cache of their internal documents marked “secret” that appear to cast Amnesty India’s operations as a dark web of intrigue.

“Our work in India, as elsewhere, is to uphold and fight for universal human rights. These are the same values that are enshrined in the Indian Constitution and flow from a long and rich Indian tradition of pluralism, tolerance and dissent,” said Aakar Patel.

“We could not agree more with the Prime Minister when he says that periods of repression, like during the Emergency, have left a stain on India’s history. Sadly, those dark days are now casting a shadow over India again. Instead of protecting human rights, as it vowed to do, the government is now targeting the people who fight for them”, said Aakar Patel.

Over 40 lakh Indians have supported Amnesty India’s work over the last six years and around one lakh Indians have made a financial contribution to Amnesty. A figure of Rs 36 crores in the accounts is the ctre of the present debate over its sources.