Canada human-rights groups ask Ottawa to sanction Yogi Adityanath, others over alleged abuses in Uttar Pradesh

Ottawa/New Delhi — Two Canadian human-rights organizations have filed a joint civil-society request with Global Affairs Canada asking for targeted sanctions against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and seven other Indian officials over alleged serious human-rights violations against Muslims in the state.
Justice for All Canada and the Canadian Forum for Human Rights and Democracy in India (CFHRDI) submitted the request on Monday confidentially to the sanctions bureau at Global Affairs Canada. The petition calls for action under Canada’s existing sanctions framework, including measures available under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act and the Special Economic Measures Act.
The groups allege a pattern of state-supported abuses in Uttar Pradesh, including extrajudicial killings, police brutality and torture, punitive vandalism campaigns, mass arrests and widespread crackdowns targeting Muslim communities. They name senior current and former police officers among the officials implicated, and argue that where domestic accountability mechanisms fail, Canada’s targeted sanctions are among the few available tools to seek redress.
“We cannot deepen trade and diplomatic relations with India while turning a blind eye to credible evidence of state-sponsored abuses against Muslims,” said Taha Ghiyoor, executive director of Justice for All Canada. The filing cites prior international warnings from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, UN human-rights experts, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and a Panel of Independent International Experts.
The organizations also urged Canadian MPs and federal officials to meet affected communities and civil-society groups, review the evidence provided to Global Affairs Canada and ensure human rights and accountability are central to Canada’s relationship with India. They requested that Global Affairs Canada conduct an independent review of the evidence and consider imposing targeted sanctions against the eight named officials. The full filing was submitted confidentially.
The move comes as Ottawa seeks to deepen ties with India; last week, more than 40 Canadian civil-society, human-rights, labour and faith groups asked the federal minister of public safety to bar entry to Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, on related grounds.