We, the coalition of civil rights, human rights, and interfaith organizations, strongly condemn the Indian Supreme Court’s denial of bail to Umar Khalid, a scholar, activist, and widely recognized prisoner of conscience. The Court’s decision, effectively barring him from seeking bail for another year after more than five years of incarceration without trial, marks a deeply troubling moment for Indian democracy and represents a serious erosion of public faith in the judiciary.

This ruling establishes a dangerous precedent in which prolonged pre-trial detention is normalized and converted into punishment. The routine denial of bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has transformed the law into a tool of preventive incarceration. If this trajectory continues, India risks creating one of the world’s largest populations of political prisoners, where dissent is criminalized and liberty is indefinitely suspended without conviction.

Umar Khalid has been imprisoned since 2020 in connection with his role as a student leader during nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), legislation widely criticized for discriminating against Muslims and undermining India’s secular constitutional framework. Despite the absence of a completed trial and without any judicial determination of guilt, Khalid remains incarcerated, illustrating how UAPA has inverted the foundational legal principle that bail is the rule and jail the exception.

Independent investigations and extensive reporting into the 2020 Delhi violence have demonstrated that the primary perpetrators were Hindu supremacist mobs emboldened by inflammatory rhetoric from political leaders, rather than peaceful protestors or student activists. Nevertheless, accountability has been selectively enforced, with Muslim students, scholars, and human rights defenders bearing the overwhelming burden of state repression, while those responsible for instigating and carrying out large-scale violence continue to enjoy impunity.

Over the last ten years, the Indian judiciary has increasingly enabled the state by providing legal sanction to policies and actions that facilitate the persecution of Muslims. The denial of bail in this case effectively criminalizes dissent and transforms prolonged pre-trial detention into a governing norm. It signals that peaceful protest, constitutional speech, and political disagreement can be reclassified as national security threats, stripping citizens of their most basic rights. Such an approach corrodes the presumption of innocence, the right to a speedy trial, and the independence of judicial institutions, all of which are essential pillars of a functioning democracy.

In december 2025, eight members of the US Congress urged the Government of India to grant bail to Umar Khalid and ensure him a fair and timely trial, emphasizing that he has spent more than five years in prison without conviction and warning that his detention raises serious concerns under international human rights law. Separately, Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York City, wrote to Umar Khalid and praised his work and courage.

Umar Khalid has also been included for years on the Frank R. Wolf Freedom of Religion or Belief Victims List maintained by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Pulitzer Center, Human Rights Foundation, and other international bodies have raised sustained concerns about Umar Khalid’s case and those of his co-accused. Many experts have warned that India’s application of UAPA in cases like his may violate international standards of due process, proportionality, and equality before the law.

Courts are meant to serve as a bulwark against such abuse of power. When they fail to do so, the harm extends far beyond the individual defendant and strikes at the heart of democratic governance. We therefore call on the Government of India to immediately release Umar Khalid and all others detained as political prisoners for exercising their fundamental rights. We further urge the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) to urgently examine the individual complaint filed by the Human Rights Foundation and to declare Umar Khalid’s detention arbitrary and in violation of international human rights law, including India’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The continued incarceration of Umar Khalid represents justice delayed and justice denied. It is a stain on India’s democratic legacy and a stark warning of the dangers that arise when dissent is treated as a crime and incarceration becomes a substitute for justice.