Responding to the arrest of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad in Delhi, India, for ‘sedition’ following his social media post, Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India, said:
“The Haryana police must stop treating Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad like a criminal simply for expressing an opinion. The shameful arrest of the Professor for a social media post seeking support for justice for victims of lynching and ‘bulldozer injustice’ in the country is a violation of his rights to freedom of expression and liberty.
“Accusing Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad of sedition and other charges is not only absurd and completely unwarranted but also shows how authorities have been consistently misusing the law to target anyone who has a critical view in the country. Section 152 of the Indian criminal code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which the professor has been accused of, is nothing but a new version of the old sedition law which the Supreme Court had stayed in 2022. In its new avatar, the law is once again being used to censor critical voices and create a climate of fear.
“The Indian government should urgently repeal this pernicious legislation and comply with their international human rights obligations. The Haryana Police must immediately release Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad and terminate the investigation against him.”
Background:
Ali Khan Mahmudabad is an associate professor and the head of the political science department at Ashoka University in India. On May 8, in a social media post he said that he was glad to see right-wing praise for Colonel Sophia Qureishi, who was one of the Indian armed forces spokespersons for media briefings on Operation Sindoor, but they should also speak up for ‘victims of mob lynchings, arbitrary bulldozing’ and the ruling-party ‘BJP’s hate mongering.’
The Haryana State Women’s Commission, however, accused the professor of attempting to “vilify national military actions”. Based on this along with a BJP Youth Wing leader’s complaint, the Haryana police filed a report against the Professor based on articles 152 (sedition), 353 (statements conducing to public mischief) and 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) of the BNS.
The Professor was arrested on May 18 from his Delhi residence and currently subject to 2-day police custody. He has defended his comments and said that they had been misunderstood.
Last year, the Rajasthan High Court had ruled against the misuse of Section 152 to suppress legitimate dissent.
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