AIPP, IPHRDs Network and PAIPT Strongly Condemn the Arrest and Detention of Indigenous Human Rights Defender Pranab Doley and Call for His Immediate Release

AIPP, IPHRDs Network and PAIPT Strongly Condemn the Arrest and Detention of Indigenous Human Rights Defender Pranab Doley and Call for His Immediate Release

13 July 2026

The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), together with the Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) Network and the Platform for Asia Indigenous Peoples Territorial Rights (PAIPT) strongly condemn the arrest and continued detention of Indigenous Peoples human rights defender Pranab Doley, Convener of the Greater Kaziranga Land and Human Rights Protection Committee (GKLHRPC), and express our unwavering solidarity with him, his family, colleagues, and the Indigenous Peoples and Adivasi communities of Assam whose collective rights he has peacefully defended.

It is reported that Pranab Doley was arrested by the Assam Police on the morning of 12 July 2026 in connection with an alleged criminal case while he was actively supporting Indigenous Peoples and Adivasi communities seeking to protect their lands, territories, and livelihoods in the Kaziranga landscape. His arrest comes amid ongoing legal proceedings concerning the proposed tourism development near Kaziranga National Park and growing concerns over the increasing criminalization of Indigenous Peoples land rights defenders in Assam.

We are deeply alarmed by the apparent use of criminal laws against Indigenous Peoples and human rights defenders who peacefully exercise their legitimate rights to defend their lands, territories, resources, cultures, and identities. Across Asia, Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) continue to face intimidation, judicial harassment, arbitrary detention, violence, and reprisals for protecting their communities and ancestral territories from dispossession and destructive development. Such actions contribute to the shrinking of civic and democratic spaces and undermine the rule of law and the protection of fundamental human rights.

The protection of Indigenous Peoples’ lands, territories, and resources is inseparable from the realization of their collective rights, cultural survival, self-determination, and environmental stewardship. Indigenous environmental and human rights defenders such as Pranab Doley play an essential role in promoting environmental justice, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience, and the peaceful resolution of conflicts over land and natural resources. Criminalizing their legitimate advocacy not only threatens individual human rights defenders but also weakens democratic governance and sustainable development.

We recall that India has obligations under international human rights law to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights of Indigenous Peoples and all human rights defenders. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirms Indigenous Peoples’ rights to their lands, territories, and resources, as well as their right to participate in decision-making processes affecting them through their own representative institutions. Likewise, the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders recognizes the right of every individual and community to promote and protect human rights without fear of intimidation or retaliation. These principles are further reinforced by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a State Party, guaranteeing the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and due process.

In this regard, AIPP, PAIPT and IPHRDs Network call upon the Government of India and the Government of Assam to:

• Immediately and unconditionally release Pranab Doley and withdraw all charges arising from the legitimate exercise of his rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.
• Guarantee his physical and psychological integrity, ensure unrestricted access to legal counsel and family members, and uphold all procedural safeguards throughout any legal proceedings.
• End the criminalization, intimidation, surveillance, and harassment of Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders, environmental defenders, and community leaders peacefully exercising their legitimate rights.
• Respect and protect the collective rights of Indigenous Peoples and Adivasi communities over their lands, territories, and resources in accordance with international human rights standards.
• Ensure that all development initiatives affecting Indigenous Peoples territories fully respect the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and are carried out through transparent, inclusive, and rights-based decision-making processes.
• Address land disputes through meaningful dialogue, independent judicial processes, and respect for the customary tenure systems and traditional governance institutions of Indigenous Peoples.

We further urge the National Human Rights Commission of India, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, the Members  of UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the international human rights community to closely monitor this case and take appropriate action to ensure the protection of Pranab Doley’s rights and those of the affected Indigenous communities.

The arrest of Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders must not become a tool to silence legitimate dissent or weaken Indigenous Peoples’ struggles for justice, land rights, and self-determination. Respect for Indigenous Peoples’ collective rights, democratic participation, and environmental justice is indispensable to achieving equitable and sustainable development.

We stand firmly with Pranab Doley and with Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders across India and Asia who continue to courageously defend their lands, territories, cultures, and futures. We reaffirm our commitment to supporting their efforts and call upon all governments to uphold their obligations to protect those who peacefully defend human rights and the environment.

In solidarity

Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP)

Indigenous Peoples Human Rights Defenders (IPHRDs) Network and

Platform for Asia Indigenous Peoples Territorial Rights (PAIPT)

Click here to download the full statement for Pranab Doley