In its ongoing attempts to put a lid on atrocities on minorities and other human rights violations in India, Narendra Modi-led Indian government has denied visa to Europe based noted human rights advocate, Alena Kahle, to visit the country.
Alena Kahle works as advocacy officer for The London Story, a Paris-based foundation that investigate human rights violations and abuses, with specific focus on misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and online propaganda.
Alena Kahle in a statement posted on her linked-in account wrote that this is the worst case, the government of India has refused her request for a tourist visa because she stands for the human rights of those they would rather see dead.
She said, eight years ago, she moved to India and fell in love with the country. Today, I have learned that I am no longer allowed in India, she said. “I sit in front of my computer in shock and deepest sadness, and seriously hope it’s a mistake. But I know that many others have been denied entry to India due to their human rights work. If this is the case for me, I will not be silent about it – just as I refuse to be silent about the 22 Indian journalists who are not allowed to leave the country,” she maintained.
Alena Kahle said since 2020, she has been ad-vocating for better European Union-India relations in which the views of all its citizens are respected and included. She said, no one should be killed, tortured, arrested or intimidated because of who they are or what they think. “As COVID clears up, I now applied for a tourist visa to go visit friends, who I haven’t seen in years, and to eat freshly made kathi rolls from the street. After nearly two months of waiting, my tourist visa has been denied,” she said in her statement.—KMS
