Image source: Facebook/Sharjeel Imam
America's Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and India's Ambassador to America Vinay Mohan Kwatra are at loggerheads over the case of Sharjeel Imam.
USCIRF had commented on the detention of Sharjeel Imam on Saturday.
The organization wrote in a post on social media X, "Sharjeel Imam is a Muslim man who has been detained for advocating religious freedom in India."
Indian Ambassador to America Vinay Mohan Kwatra has responded to this post.
Sharjeel Imam, a student of JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University), has been in jail for the last six years. Sharjeel was arrested by Delhi Police from Jehanabad, Bihar on 28 January 2020.
He was accused of sedition and alleged inflammatory speeches given in Aligarh and elsewhere during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
What USCIRF said
Image source: Getty Images
USCIRF, or United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, is an independent commission and government agency that includes people from both the major political parties of America, Republican and Democratic Party.
This commission was established in the year 1998 under the International Religious Freedom Act. This federal government agency is separate from the US State Department and works independently.
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It monitors the situation of religious freedom in different countries of the world. USCIRF has earlier also raised questions on the issue of religious freedom in India in its reports.
USCIRF wrote about Sharjeel Imam on its website, "In January 2020, authorities arrested Muslim student activist Imam for participating in peaceful protests in December 2019 and January 2020 against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which discriminates on the basis of religion."
"Authorities accused him of inciting communal violence through speeches he made during the protests."
USCIRF wrote, "In August 2020, authorities charged him under FIR 59/2020 with rioting with a deadly weapon, murder, attempt to murder, treason, 'promoting enmity on grounds of religion', unlawful activities, terroristic acts, financing terrorist activities, and conspiracy."
Indian Ambassador's sharp reaction
Image source, @AmbVMKwatra
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Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra gave a strong reaction to this comment of USCIRF on social media.
He said that USCIRF has no right to pass judgment on the constitutional rights of Indian citizens.
Kwatra described the commission's assessment as 'biased, based on incomplete information and prejudiced'.
He said such assessments cannot undermine India's constitutional commitment to religious freedom and equal rights for all religions.
He further said that USCIRF should consider its own biases and stop preaching to others.
In the latest report of USCIRF this year, it was said that in the year 2025, the situation of religious freedom in India has continuously deteriorated. For this reason, a recommendation has been made to include India in the CPC list.
This report says that such laws have been passed at the national and state level in India which target the religious freedom of minorities.
The report said that the government in India is expelling refugees from the country and attacks on minorities by Hindutva and nationalist groups have increased.
The Government of India had strongly criticized the report of the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) demanding a ban on RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India has said in a statement that the report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom is clearly 'biased and motivated'.
What is the matter of Sharjeel Imam?
Image source: NEERAJ PRIYADARSHY
Sharjeel is a resident of Kako, Jehanabad (Bihar). His father Akbar Imam has contested assembly elections twice.
Last time he contested elections on JDU ticket in 2005, he was defeated by 2250 votes.
Sharjeel received his primary education from Kako. But later he went to St. Xavier's School, Patna to study. From there he did Computer Science Engineering from DPS Vasant Kunj and then IIT Powai and joined PhD from JNU.
While protesting against CAA and NRC, a video of Sharjeel had gone viral in which Sharjeel had said, "If we have to help the people of Assam, we will have to cut them off from India."
Sharjeel used to call himself the main organizer of the ongoing protests in Shaheen Bagh. He had announced to withdraw the protest on January 2.
Bail has been granted in this case
Delhi's Saket Court had acquitted the JNU student and ten others in the case of violence that took place near the central university Jamia Millia Islamia in February 2023.
The court acquitted them of the charges and said that 'dissent is an extension of the fundamental right like freedom of expression.'
However, Sharjeel Imam was not released from judicial custody as he was facing trials in three separate cases of violence in Delhi in 2019.
He was acquitted by the court only in the violence that took place on 13 December 2019.
Imam is also accused of giving a speech to incite violence on 15 December. He is also accused of inciting violence in the 2020 riots in North East Delhi. On this basis, action was taken against him under UAPA.
In January this year, the Supreme Court had rejected the bail plea of Omar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.
However, the Supreme Court has granted bail to five other accused. Five other accused in this case – Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Salim Khan and Shadab Ahmed were granted bail.
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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