Responding to the news of activist and Delhi University professor Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba’s re-acquittal by the Bombay High Court today after being in jail for more than seven years under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Aakar Patel, chair of board at Amnesty International India, said:
“The re-acquittal of G.N. Saibaba today is again a positive development and triumph of justice over continued repression. He should have never been jailed in the first place. His previous 2022 acquittal should never have been reversed too. The Indian authorities have targeted him solely for having spoken out against the violence and discrimination faced by the Dalit and Indigenous communities in India.
Statement and background: Re-acquittal of human rights defender G.N. Saibaba is a triumph of justice over continued repression