FIR against Amnesty International former executive director, Aakar Patel

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="743"]Amnesty international Image source | Google[/caption]

An FIR has been registered against Aakar Patel, former executive director of human rights advocacy organization Amnesty International, for posting 'inflammatory' content on social media. The police allege that through his tweet, he allegedly tried to incite people against the government.

A case was registered following a complaint by the Inspector of Police of Jaisinagar police station. It alleged that the tweet by Patel on Twitter was Inflammatory. Referring to the protests in several cities of the US after the death of Black American man George Floyd in police custody, Patel said in a tweet on 31 May, “We need protests like these. From Dalits and Muslims and Adivasis. And the poor. And women. World will notice. Protest is a craft."

A case was registered for inciting the public and commenting with the intention of causing a riot. Reacting to the police action against Patel, Amnesty International India director Avinash Kumar said, "The Bangalore Police's filing of FIR against Aakar Patel is another example of how the right to dissent continues to be a crime in the country. "The Bangalore Police should stop using its power and stop intimidating Aakar Patel to exercise his right to freedom of expression as provided by the Constitution," he said.

In a statement, he said that the people of this country have the right to have consent or disagreement with the people of power and to express their opinion under peaceful protest without fear and without any interference.