Indian activist Umar Khalid has spent more than six years in prison since becoming a prominent voice in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, a law that excludes Muslims from eligibility for a fast-tracked path to Indian citizenship.
In a prison diary published by @TheQuint Umar writes about the toll of years in detention without a trial:
“How is it that I have spent most of my thirties in captivity? I wonder if this continuing injustice makes a difference to anyone? Does it move even a feather in our hallowed chambers of justice? … Unable to sleep, I pick up a pencil and start scribbling on the walls of my cell. Tonight, I wrote these lines from one of my favourite songs by Coldplay. ‘Nobody said it was easy — no one said it would be this hard.’”
HRF calls on the Indian government to immediately end Umar’s arbitrary detention.
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