By Muslim Mirror Staff

Prominent human rights group Amnesty India has strongly condemned the arrest of human rights activist Teesta Setalvad by the Gujarat Police. It called Indian authorities to release her with immediate effects.

The organisation said that her arrest sends a chilling message to the civil society & further shrinks the space for dissent in the country.

Setalvad’s detention comes a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by her along with Zakia Jafri, whose husband was murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The petition sought to investigate the role of PM Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat's Chief Minister.

— Amnesty India (@AIIndia) June 25, 2022

Setalvad was detained on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by her along with Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri was murdered during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The petition sought to probe the role of PM Narendra Modi, who was then Gujarat’s Chief Minister.

Reacting to the same, Islamic organisation Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) said that suppressing voices for people’s rights would weaken our democracy and therefore weaken India. JIH vice president Salim Engineer said, “Activists are not adversaries or enemies of the government and the administration but their work supplements the government in delivering justice to the people.”