Amnesty International rejects allegations of anti-India slogans

NEW DELHI: The Amnesty International on Tuesday rejected the allegations that its employees raised anti-India slogans during an event in Bengaluru.

“No employee shouted any slogan at any point,” said Amnesty International in a statement.

“Right to freedom of expression under international human rights law includes right to peacefully advocate political solutions as long as it does not involve incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence,” said Amnesty International.

Bengaluru Police had on Monday registered a case of sedition against representatives from Amnesty International India, based on a complaint by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) about alleged anti-India slogans raised during an Amnesty International programme here Saturday.

Sedition charges have been used in the past against supporters of independence for Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both.

The case comes at a particularly sensitive time, with large parts of Indian Kashmir under curfew following weeks of deadly violence between protesters and security forces.

Rights campaigners have long accused India´s governments of using the British-era sedition law to clamp down on dissent. Sedition carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, although convictions are rare.