Greta Thunberg backs Disha Ravi, says protesting a ‘non-negotiable human right’

Greta Thunberg had sparked a controversy after sharing the toolkit document on the farmers' protest on Twitter.

By: Express Web Desk
New Delhi | Updated: February 19, 2021 10:07 PM IST

2 min read

Capitol Hill, Red Fort violence, Govt pulls up Twitter, differential treatment by twitter, Greta Thunberg, freedom of expression, Indian express news

The toolkit on the farmers’ protest had come under the police scanner after Swedish environmental activist Thunberg tweeted it on February 3.

Extending support to 22-year-old Disha Ravi, arrested in connection with the toolkit case, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg Friday said that freedom of speech and to protest peacefully are “non-negotiable” human rights that should not be denied in any democracy.

“Freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest and assembly are non-negotiable human rights. These must be a fundamental part of any democracy. #StandWithDishaRavi,” tweeted Thunberg, who sparked a controversy after sharing the toolkit document on the farmers’ protest on her social media handle. It was later deleted, with the activist saying it was being “updated by people on the ground in India”.

The toolkit on the farmers’ protest had come under the police scanner after Swedish environmental activist Thunberg tweeted it on February 3, with the police claiming that the sequence of events in the farmers’ protests, including the violent incidents at the Red Fort on Republic Day, was a “copycat” of the alleged action plan in the document.

According to the Delhi Police, Ravi was the “key conspirator” in the formulation and dissemination of the document and that she collaborated with pro-Khalisatani Poetic Justice Foundation to “spread disaffection against Indian state” and also shared the doc with Thunberg.

Earlier in the day, a Delhi court sent Ravi to three-day judicial custody in connection with the case. The police informed the court that Ravi had been evasive during interrogation and that she shifted the blame on the co-accused. Ravi has filed an application for bail, which will be heard by a court on Saturday.

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