Interview Times India on Wednesday dismissed as “completely unwarranted” the remarks by the UN Human Rights office over the arrest of social activist Teesta Setalvad and said these comments “constitute an interference” in the country’s independent judicial system.
The case
An Ahmedabad court on Sunday remanded Setalvad and former state director general of police RB Sreekumar in police custody till July 2 in a case of fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is also an accused in the case, is serving a life sentence in another case related to custodial death.
What UN body said
The UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has voiced concern over the arrest and detention of Setalvad and the two former police officers and called for her immediate release.
They must not be persecuted for their activism, it said in a tweet showing solidarity with the “victims”.
India hits back
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “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, Bagchi asserted. “Labelling such legal actions as persecution for activism is misleading and unacceptable,” he added.
Meanwhile…
Referring to the arrest of Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, a UN spokesperson said journalists should not be jailed for “what they write, what they tweet, and what they say”.
