New Delhi: Climate activist Greta Thunberg has tweeted in support of 22-year-old Disha Ravi, who was arrested on February 15 by Delhi Police for editing a document shared by Thunberg.
Ravi is one of the founders of the ‘Fridays for Future’ campaign in India, which focuses on combating climate change and which was kickstarted globally by Thunberg.
Thunberg retweeted a thread by Friday for Future’s India chapter. This is the first time since Ravi’s arrest that Fridays for Future India and Thunberg voiced support for her publicly.
Thunberg tweeted with the hashtag #IStandWithDishaRavi and wrote: “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.”
It was Thunberg’s tweet on a ‘toolkit’ which contained resources for supporting the farmers’ protest peacefully, that led Delhi Police to essay a conspiracy case against those involved in editing the document – including allegedly, Ravi. It is not clear as to why Delhi Police has considered editing an easily accessible document a crime, that too worthy of a sedition charge.
On February 19, Ravi was remanded to three additional days of judicial custody. Delhi police has issued non-bailable arrest warrants against two others, including activist Shantanu Muluk and lawyer Nikita Jacob, for having been involved with this ‘toolkit.’