The United Nations Human Rights office on Thursday expressed concern over the use of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in India to silence critics in the country. The office urged authorities to drop the cases against Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain.

In a post on social media platform X (formerly twitter), the UN Human Rights stated, “#India: We are concerned by use of #UAPA anti-terror law to silence critics. Repeat call for review of law & release of human rights defenders detained under it. Urge authorities to drop cases against Arundhati Roy & Sheikh Showkat Hussain over comments on India-admin Kashmir.”

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On June 14, Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena had authorized prosecution of the award winning author, along with Kashmiri Academic Sheikh Showkat Hussain.

The two has been accused under the anti-terrorism law known as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for their remarks on Kashmir during a conference called ‘Azadi – The Only Way’ on October 21, 2010, in New Delhi.