Two days after the resignation of Chief Minister Biren Singh, following his failure to check ethnic violence, a senior journalist and human rights activist Yambem Laba (69) was abducted from his home on Tuesday by a group of armed men, in Manipur. For over 7 hours following his abduction, there was no information concerning his whereabouts.
He was subsequently released, after he was forced to apologize for statements criticising militant groups in Manipur and promising not to make any further public appearances or statements. It is believed that the abduction was a reprisal against his public statements regarding the violence in Manipur and his comments on the political context following the resignation of Chief Minister Bhiren Singh.
Yambem Laba is a senior journalist and a special correspondent with the Statesman and the former acting chairperson of the Manipur Human Rights Commission. Hehas been critical of the government of Manipur’s Chief Minister, due to their failure in ceasing the ethnic violence which has impacted the State for over a year and a half.
On Tuesday at around 3:30 a.m., a group of 15-20 unidentified armed men abducted him at gunpoint from his home in Uripok Yambem Leikai, Imphal, Manipur. This was following his participation in a television talk show on the evening of Monday, where he discussed the resignation of Bhiren Singh. He was released also on the condition that he should not make any further television appearances.
Yambem Laba has been targeted several times before by State authorities and non-state armed groups due to his human rights work, being vocal on the negative impacts of government policies and on the ethnic violence ongoing in the State of Manipur. In October 2024, he was arrested on false charges as a reprisal for criticising the Bhiren Singh government.
Yambem Laba’s house has also been attacked several times, including a few days prior to the abduction, when militants fired several rounds at his home and demanded that he should delete a Facebook post in which he criticized armed groups in Manipur.
The Front Line Defenders has expressed concern for the safety of Yambem Laba, in retaliation for his legitimate work as a human rights defender. It demanded authorities for an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction with a view to bring those responsible to justice.
It also demanded to ensure that human rights defenders in Manipur are protected from reprisals from State and non-state groups and end the persecution and punishment of human rights defenders in the State, including for exercising their right to free expression and peaceful dissent.
