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India dismisses criticism of Teesta Setalvad’s arrest by UN human rights agency
India’s external affairs ministry said the comment by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding legal action against Teesta Setalvad and two other persons is completely unwarranted and constitute an interference in India’s independent judicial system
India on Wednesday rejected criticism by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of the arrest of rights activist Teesta Setalvad and two others and said authorities had acted in line with established judicial processes.
The UN human rights agency, in a tweet posted on Tuesday, expressed concern over the arrest of Teesta Setalvad and former police officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt and sought their immediate release.
Responding to the tweet, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the comments by OHCHR were “completely unwarranted”.
“We have seen a comment by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding legal action against Teesta Setalvad and two other persons. The remarks by OHCHR are completely unwarranted and constitute an interference in India’s independent judicial system,” he said.
“Authorities in India act against violations of law strictly in accordance with established judicial processes. Labelling such legal actions as persecution for activism is misleading and unacceptable,” he added.
The UN human rights agency had said in its tweet: “We are very concerned by the arrest and detention of #WHRD @TeestaSetalvad and two ex police officers and call for their immediate release. They must not be persecuted for their activism and solidarity with the victims of the 2002 #GujaratRiots.”
Besides the tweet, OHCHR did not issue any statement on the matter.
Several rights groups and NGOs, such as the Working Group of Human Rights in India and the United Nations (WGHR), have condemned the arrest of Setalvad, who is secretary of Citizens for Peace and Justice (CJP). They have alleged this action by Gujarat’s Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) was an outcome of a reference in the Supreme Court’s judgement in Zakia Jafri’s case that was decided on June 24.
The Supreme Court ruled out a larger conspiracy behind the 2002 Gujarat violence, and upheld the clean chit given by a court-appointed special investigation team to then chief minister Narendra Modi and 62 others in February 2012.
Setalvad was detained by ATS a day after the Supreme Court verdict. Sreekumar and Bhatt were arrested in connection with the same case.
WGHR said the arrests amounted to “retaliation and reprisal” for seeking accountability from all and for standing with the victims of the 2002 violence.
