NEW DELHI, July 25: The Indian government has denied a visa to the secretary general of human rights group Amnesty International, Irene Khan Zubeida, it was reported on Friday.
The organisation was apparently mobilising members to push the government to retry a case related to last year’s bloody riots in the western state of Gujarat, the Times of India newspaper reported.
Last month, a court acquitted — for lack of evidence — 21 men accused of murder in one of the most gruesome cases of violence to rock Gujarat. A rampaging Hindu mob set fire to a bakery, killing 14 people. A majority of the victims were Muslims.
Amnesty International has been critical of the government’s record on human rights violations and the denial of justice to women during the Gujarat riots.
The organisation’s July report states: “At the time of the violence in Gujarat, India had dismissed international expressions of concern as “interference”, arguing that India’s criminal justice system and other institutions, including the National Human Rights Commission, would be able adequately to address the situation in Gujarat. Those statements today appear hollow.”
In May 2002, New York-based Human Rights Watch released a 75-page report blaming Gujarat’s state government for direct involvement in the riots. It said officials covered up their roles in the bloodshed.
According to official government figures, 900 people — mostly Muslims — were killed in the riots.—dpa
