Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has questioned why former JNU student leader Omar Khalid continues to remain behind bars without trial. The parliamentarian on Monday described Khalid’s six-year imprisonment, in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots, as a “travesty of justice and a disgrace to our democracy.”
His reaction came during an interview with Omar Khaled guardian, The doctoral researcher questioned the silence of the opposition parties. While sharing an analysis of the interview, Tharoor wrote on X: “This is a moving article [Umar Khalid] In prison, he poses a simple question: If he actually incited terrorism, why can’t he prove it in a court of law?
“Why should we deprive him of the fundamental right of any Indian citizen accused of a crime, which is the right to a fair trial? To live for six years behind bars, without the opportunity to defend himself legally, is a mockery of justice and a disgrace to our democracy. I believe the people of India have a right to know why,” Tharoor added.
Omar Khaled on the silence of the opposition
Khaled’s bail applications were repeatedly postponed, postponed or heard by judges who later withdrew. Each application was ultimately rejected. The BJP has denied any role in the legal proceedings, while publicly welcoming the court’s decisions that denied him bail.
In his first interview since his arrest in 2020, Khalid criticized the opposition’s failure to speak out about political prisoners jailed since the BJP came to power.
He said The Guardian“Six years later, I have to say that I feel truly disappointed, and even isolated. This silence – from opposition parties, civil society groups, and celebrity activists who have made their careers dependent on grassroots movements – encourages this regime to pursue more dissidents.”
The case is against Omar Khaled
Before becoming prisoner No. 626714 in Delhi’s notorious Tihar Jail, Khalid was a prominent face of peaceful resistance.
Highly educated, he earned a PhD in history from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and spent years speaking out against the marginalization and segregation of over 20 crore Muslims in India.
In late 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was seen as discriminatory against Muslims. Massive and largely peaceful protests have swept the country. Khaled was a main character. He once told a crowd: “We will not respond to violence with violence. We will not respond to hate with hate. If they spread hate, we will respond to it with love.”
In February 2020, deadly riots broke out in northeast Delhi, killing more than 50 people. Khaled was arrested seven months later on charges of “orchestrating” the riots to engineer violent regime change.
He was detained under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Khaled has consistently denied the accusations against him and said they were politically motivated. He remains imprisoned without a trial date set.
Omar Khaled is in prison and labeled a “terrorist.”
Regarding the psychological toll of nearly six years in prison, Khaled said that the prolonged imprisonment affected his mental health and sense of self. “When you are reduced to an image, whether negative or positive, it becomes difficult to maintain not only your humanity, but sometimes even your sanity,” he said.
He also claimed that the years he spent behind bars did not change his political views. He said The Guardian that “India’s process of transformation into a post-truth society is almost complete” and described “the normalization and glorification of hate speech and the language of genocide”.
He said: “You even hear rumblings about yourself from fellow prisoners with whom you ate meals, calling you a terrorist behind your back. This propaganda strips me of my humanity in people’s eyes. Humanity is a privilege that is not given to people like me.”
What did Omar Khaled’s parents say?
His father, Syed Qasim Rasul Elias, said New York Times In 2024, “As they say, this process is the punishment. It’s very easy to frame someone with an Islamic name these days.”
His mother, Sabiha Khanum, recalls one of the few moments she was able to meet her son in court. “I hugged him tightly and prayed for his release,” she said, according to the New York Times.
Earlier this month, Khalid was granted three-day interim bail by the Delhi High Court from June 1 to 3 to take care of his mother who underwent surgery.
The court granted him temporary relief after the court rejected his request for bail for 15 days to attend a memorial ceremony for his uncle Jhelum and to assist his mother during and after her surgery.
