India Wields Colonial-Era Sedition Law to Detain Farm Protesters
- Climate activist associated with Greta Thunberg arrested
- Sedition charges allow government to detain suspects for years
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In its struggle to quell unrelenting farmer protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration is using a colonial-era sedition law that has been used to lock up dissidents often without bail while they await trial -- sometimes for years.
Delhi police this month arrested Disha Ravi, a 22-year-old environmental campaigner, at her home in the southern city of Bangalore for editing and sharing a “toolkit” tweeted by teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg in support of the farmers. Police said the document aimed to “spread disaffection against the Indian state” in a tweet that tagged the prime minister’s office.