‘Derailment of justice in India’: Global rights groups demand immediate release of Umar Khalid
London: A coalition of international human rights organizations has slammed India for keeping student activist Umar Khalid behind bars for five years without trial, demanding his immediate and unconditional release and underlining that his prolonged detention exposes the collapse of justice in the country.
According to Kashmir Media Service, in a joint statement ahead of the fifth anniversary of his arrest, Amnesty International, CIVICUS, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation for Human Rights, Forum Asia, Front Line Defenders, and the World Organisation Against Torture declared that Khalid’s case “exemplifies the derailment of justice in India.” The statement has been posted on Amnesty International’s website.
“The Government of India must immediately and unconditionally release human rights defender and student activist Umar Khalid who has been incarcerated for five long years without trial on politically motivated charges,” said Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India’s board. “Starved of justice, Khalid’s prolonged persecution makes a mockery of international human rights principles.”
Khalid, 36, was arrested on September 13, 2020, for his alleged role in the 2020 Delhi pogrom, which killed 53 people, most of them Muslims. He was booked under multiple charges, including sedition, rioting, conspiracy, and murder, in addition to the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Rights groups note that his bail applications have been rejected at least four, most recently on September 2, while his plea before the Indian Supreme Court was adjourned 14 times before being withdrawn in frustration. “The repeated bail denials combined with persistent delays, and the continued absence of trial proceedings, amount to a violation of Khalid’s right to a fair and speedy trial, guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which India is a state party, as well as under the Constitution of India.”
The coalition said, “Khalid’s detention is not an isolated case and is emblematic of a broader pattern of repression faced by those who dare to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. “Indian authorities are weaponising the UAPA to selectively target journalists, students, and activists critical of government policies,” the groups observed. They highlighted, “Other students and human rights activists, including Gulfisha Fatima, Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, Shifa-ur-Rehman and Meeran Haider, also remain in detention for their peaceful opposition to CAA [Citizenship Amendment Act], while police officials and political leaders responsible for incitement or complicity in violence that followed the anti-CAA protests in 2020 continue to enjoy impunity. These are clear cases of selective prosecution aimed at criminalizing and chilling dissent in India.”
On Friday, the Indian SC adjourned bail petitions filed by Khalid, Imam, Fatima, and Haider to September 19, further prolonging their incarceration.
