A group of U.S. lawmakers has urged the Indian government to grant bail to student activist and academic Umar Khalid, citing concerns over his prolonged pre-trial detention in connection with the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi.
In a letter sent to India’s Ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, members of the U.S. Congress and Senate said Khalid’s continued incarceration for nearly five years raises “serious questions about due process, human rights and India’s obligations under international law.”
The letter was signed by senior Democratic lawmakers, including Representatives James P. McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib and Lloyd Doggett, as well as Senators Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch.
Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and multiple offences under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. He is one of six accused in the case, alongside Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meera Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman and Md Saleem Khan, all of whom have remained in custody for more than five years.
Indian investigators have alleged that the accused were “masterminds” of a broader conspiracy linked to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The unrest in February 2020 coincided with the visit of then U.S. President Donald Trump to India and resulted in 53 deaths and more than 700 injuries.
In their letter, the U.S. lawmakers framed their concerns within the broader context of the India-U.S. strategic partnership, stating that both countries, as the world’s largest democracies, share a responsibility to uphold freedom, rule of law, human rights and pluralism.
“It is in this spirit that we raise the following concerns,” the lawmakers wrote.
They traced the origins of the case to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act passed in late 2019, noting that a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had previously described the law as “fundamentally discriminatory.” The lawmakers said that human rights organizations, legal experts and international media outlets have repeatedly questioned the fairness of the investigations and prosecutions related to the riots.
The letter also argued that terrorism-related charges brought against Khalid relied on “secret witnesses and misconstrued speech,” and pointed to independent rights investigations that found no evidence linking him to terrorist activity.
The lawmakers acknowledged that the case is currently under consideration by India’s Supreme Court and welcomed the temporary bail Khalid was granted to attend his sister’s wedding.
Indian authorities have not publicly responded to the letter.
