NEW DELHI —
Protests were held in several
Indian cities Monday over the arrest of a rights
activist who attempted to have Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared complicit
in deadly sectarian riots 20 years ago.
اضافة اعلان
One of India’s
worst outbreaks of religious violence saw at least 1,000 people — mostly
Muslims — hacked, shot and burned to death in Gujarat when
Modi was premier of
the western state in 2002.
Activist Teesta
Setalvad was detained on Saturday, a day after India’s top court rejected a
lawsuit filed by her and her NGO challenging a ruling that cleared Modi over
the bloodshed.
Hindu nationalist
Modi, who ran Gujarat from 2001 until becoming Indian prime minister in 2014,
was briefly subject to a travel ban by the United States over the violence.
The unrest began
after 59 Hindus died in a fire on a train returning from one of Hinduism’s most
sacred sites. Thirty-one Muslims were convicted of criminal conspiracy and
murder over the incident.
Setalvad was a
co-petitioner in the appeal to the Supreme Court filed by Zakia Jafri, the
widow of a former lawmaker, Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the riots.
“I am not a criminal,”
Setalvad shouted to waiting journalists Saturday after anti-terrorist police
detained her for alleged criminal conspiracy, forgery and placing false
evidence in court.
The Mumbai Press
Club expressed “shock and dismay” at the arrest, calling for an end to the
“politics of vengeance”.
“Setalvad and
others, who lent their voice to the victims of communal violence in 2002 and
after, have now been made scapegoats in a chilling process of vendetta
unleashed by the executive and judiciary,” the organization said.
Mary Lawlor, UN
special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said she was “deeply concerned”.
“Teesta is a strong
voice against hatred and discrimination. Defending human rights is not a crime.
I call for her release and an end to persecution by #Indian state,” Lawlor
tweeted.
“It’s not just
politically motivated, it’s beyond that. It is a fascist mindset,” said Balan,
60, one of several dozen lawyers and activists protesting in Bangalore on
Monday. He declined to give his last name.
“Whoever is working
for the people, who is working for the downtrodden communities, (the
government) treats this as a crime,” Balan added.
A larger protest
involving about 150 people took place in
Mumbai and a smaller one in New Delhi.
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