Disha Ravi – Indian climate activist linked to Greta Thunberg granted bail by court
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”.
The judge in his order granting bail said the decision was taken “considering the scanty and sketchy investigation,” according to Indian media reports. “I do not find any palpable reason to breach the rule of bail for a 22-year-old girl who has absolutely no criminal antecedents,”were the official’s saying.
During the three-hour-long bail hearing on February 20, the police said that the ‘Toolkit’ was a sinister design to defame India and cause violence. Disha Ravi, one of the founders of Fridays For Future (FFF) in India, was arrested by the Delhi Police on 4 February, along with two others, for allegedly editing the ‘toolkit’ shared by the Swedish activist on Twitter.
The protest by thousands of farmers, many of them Sikhs, on the outskirts of New Delhi since late November against new agricultural laws has emerged as a major challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The protest then took an international turn in early February when pop star Rihanna, Thunberg and the US vice president’s niece Meena Harris tweeted about the subject.
