New Delhi
Supporters of a young climate activist arrested in India over a farmers’ protest “toolkit,” later shared by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, have called for her release.
Delhi police confirmed the arrest of Disha Ravi, who is in her early 20s, in a tweet on Sunday that accused her of being a “key conspirator in (the) document’s formulation & dissemination.” The document, unsigned and publicly available on an encrypted sharing site, provides a list of ways supporters can help the ongoing protests.
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Makeshift protest camps have sprung up around the capital New Delhi and workers have gone on strike in several states. Violence has broken out on occasion — most notably on January 26, when police and protesters clashed on the streets. The toolkit instructs people to call government representatives, share solidarity hashtags on social media, participate in rallies, and sign petitions. It gained visibility after Thunberg tweeted a link to it on February 4, crediting “people on the ground in India.”
The move appeared to anger Indian authorities. The same day, Delhi police announced they had launched a criminal investigation into the toolkit’s creators and would look to charge them with sedition, provoking or inciting a riot and criminal conspiracy. The document “predates and indicates a copycat execution of a conspiracy behind the 26 Jan violence,” police tweeted. “The call was to wage economic, social, cultural and regional war against India.”
“In this document, there is an action plan (that) on or after January 26, there will be a digital strike and a tweet storm and also physical action on January 26,” said Special Commissioner Praveer Ranjan at a news conference on February 4. “Using this toolkit, people were informed (on how to enter and exit Delhi).” On Sunday, police accused Ravi of starting a WhatsApp group that collaborated on the document.—Agencies
