Indian rights defender who fought for 2002 Gujarat riot victims arrested
June 27, 2022
- Special Investigation Team (SIT) clears Narendra Modi of crimes committed in 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat.
- Teesta Setalvad fought for 2002 Gujarat riot victims arrested.
- Police charge her with “committing forgery and fabricating evidence”.
India's Supreme Court has arrested Indian rights defender Teesta Setalvad after the findings of a special investigation team (SIT) cleared Narendra Modi of the crimes committed in the 2002 anti-Muslim riots in Gujarat, Al Jazeera reported.
The anti-terrorism wing of the Gujarat police picked the activist up on Saturday afternoon from her home.
India's interior minister, Amit Shah, accused Setalvad of "reporting inaccurately to the police about the anti-Muslim violence during Modi’s chief ministership of the state."
The police charged her with “committing forgery and fabricating evidence”.
United Nations expert Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, expressed concerns over the arrest.
“Deeply concerned by reports of #WHRD [Human Rights Defender] Teesta Setalvad being detained by Anti-Terrorism Sqaud [sic] of Gujarat police,” she said.
She called Setalvad “a strong voice against hatred and discrimination”.
Al Jazeera also quoted Setalvad as saying that her detention was illegal and she was assaulted by the police during the raid.
Riots under Modi's chief ministership in Gujarat killed nearly 2,000 people, most of whom were Muslims. The official figures are reported to be 1,000.
