Bengaluru azaadi row: Amnesty denies employees shouted anti-India slogans

In countries where human rights are violated, Amnesty has not only tried to protect people, but has also been instrumental in bringing drawing global attention to such violations.

Amnesty organised the programme – “Broken Families” – which had an interactive discussion on peace and justice in Kashmir and where three families from the strife-torn valley shared human rights violations they faced with the rest of India.

The FIR has not named any individual but implicated Amensty India for holding the event and allegedly allowing slogans to be raised against the country and the Indian Army.

The sections deal with sedition, promoting enmity, unlawful assembly and rioting allegations.

Giving a “point-by-point rebuttal” to the allegations raised in the complaint, Amnesty said the first allegation was that “Sindhujaa Iyengar, a political science lecturer at a private university in Bengaluru, Seema Mustafa and Roushan Illahi sang anti-national songs and raised anti-national slogans”. They demanded action against organisers and those involved in raising of slogans.

Amnesty International’s India chapter said none of its employee had shouted any anti-India slogan at an event on Kashmir in Bengaluru. “Holding that it had organised the event as part of a campaign to seek justice for “victims of human rights violations” in Jammu and Kashmir, Amnesty International India in a statement had said that some of those who attended had raised slogans, referring to calls for “azadi” (freedom), towards the end”.

Police, on the other hand, wanted to probe the matter before it filed the case.

The Bengaluru Police were informed about the event well in advance. “We had taken all the requisite permission to hold the event”, Amnesty Executive Director said.

When the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists refused to disperse, police caned them and took about 30 of them into preventive custody.

The decision about which sections to apply was taken after long discussions according to a senior police who added that evidence such as the video footage was also available for examination.

Amnesty International India had invited the Bengaluru police to be present at the event, in the interest of the security of the invited families and other attendees. Amnesty International India has not yet received a copy of the FIR.

The Supreme Court has ruled that expression can be restricted on grounds of public order only when it involves incitement to imminent violence or disorder.