Indian activist Disha Ravi granted bail

South Asia

TBS Report
23 February, 2021, 05:10 pm
Last modified: 23 February, 2021, 05:13 pm
Police said Disha Ravi was a "key conspirator" in the "formulation and dissemination" of a protest "toolkit"

An Indian court has granted bail to a 22-year-old climate activist who was arrested for sharing a document intended to help farmers protesting against new agricultural laws.

Police said Disha Ravi was a "key conspirator" in the "formulation and dissemination" of a protest "toolkit", reports the BBC.

They have accused her of sedition and conspiracy - charges she has denied.

Activists have called her arrest a warning to those who want to show support to anti-government protests.

Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting for three months against new laws, which they say will benefit only big corporations.

These protests have come to represent one of the biggest challenges faced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. Ravi, one of the founders of the Indian branch of the Fridays for Future climate strike, was arrested by Delhi police on 13 February from her home in the southern city of Bengaluru (formerly Bangalore).

She was flown to Delhi where she appeared before a magistrate and was remanded in custody.

In a statement posted on social media, police said she had "collaborated" to "spread disaffection against the Indian state".

They said she was an editor of a document - "toolkit" - and had shared it with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who had tweeted it.

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