‘Bad time for Human Rights movement in India” says Henri Tiphagne selected for Amnesty award

“’Human Rights’ is a bad word in the country. This is an award at a time when civil society space in the country has been shrinking. People today are finding it difficult to work in the space of human rights as it was the case before,” says Henri Tiphagne.

Amnesty International Germany has chosen advocate and executive director of Madurai-based People’s Watch Tamil Nadu, Henri Tiphagne for the human rights award for 2016. He is the first Indian to be selected for the award for his commitment to human rights for close to three decades.

Tiphagne, who founded People’s Watch in 1997, has tirelessly stood up for human rights. The organisation has been documenting and researching human rights violations and also helping with legal representation. People’s Watch has so far mentored as many as 5 lakh children across 18 Indian states, said Amnesty International in a statement.

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