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‘Immediately revoke arbitrary travel ban’: Amnesty International to India on Aakar Patel
Patel, a former head of Amnesty International's now-closed India arm, said a day ago authorities at the Bengaluru airport stopped him from flying to the United States.
Reacting on Aakar Patel, the former chief of Amnesty International India, being stopped from flying out of the country, Amnesty International has called for ‘immediate revocation’ of what it said was an ‘arbitrary travel ban’ imposed on the human rights activist.
Also Read | Ex-Amnesty India chief says stopped at Bengaluru airport from flying to US
“Denying Aakar's right to freedom of movement to prevent him from exercising his freedom of expression is an alarming manifestation of the Indian government's mounting crackdown on human rights defenders and activists. Operating in a climate of harassment, intimidation, interference and constant surveillance is unacceptable, but has unfortunately become routine for human rights activists in India,” the global human rights watchdog said in a statement, quoting Kyle Ward, its deputy secretary general.
Amnesty International, which closed its India operations in September 2020 due to what it described as a ‘witch-hunt’ by the Government of India, also noted that 'imposition of travel bans on human rights defenders in the country is not new.'
“In the last few years, many human rights activists and journalists have been banned at the last moment from attending international conferences and events on the human rights situation in India. This incessant witch-hunt is contrary to India's international human rights obligations, and reflects poorly on its role as a member of the UN Human Rights Council,” Ward said, according to the release.
The ‘Look-Out Circular’ which prevented Patel from flying is a ‘politically motivated executive order' that is imposed in a discriminatory manner based on a person's political opinion, Amnesty International further said.
Patel, as per the statement, was scheduled to attend multiple conferences, organised by the University of Michigan, University of Berkeley and New York University, on the human rights situation in India.
On Wednesday, Aakar Patel took to Twitter to inform he was to board a US-bound flight from Bengaluru but was not allowed to do so, adding that an officer from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) called to inform him this is because his name is on a Look-Out Circular due to a case filed against Amnesty International India.
Amnesty India is being investigated for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.
