IAMC welcomes acquittal of two Muslim men wrongfully jailed in Delhi pogrom case; calls for release of all political prisoners
Washington, D.C. (August 2, 2024) – The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) today welcomed the acquittal of two Muslim men, Nazmuddin and Mohd Ajeej, who were wrongfully accused of complicity in the 2020 Delhi pogrom.
In February 2020, Hindu militant mobs unleashed a wave of violence in India’s capital city, New Delhi, targeting Muslim neighborhoods. The attacks resulted in the loss of lives, the burning of homes and shops, and the looting of Muslim-owned properties. Reports from Muslim victims detailed harrowing experiences, including being beaten with iron rods and crowbars, forcefully checked for circumcision, and witnessing family members murdered in their homes. Some victims were burned alive. In total, 53 people were killed.
Nazmuddin and Ajeej were both victims of the pogrom’s anti-Muslim violence, as reported by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR). In a statement, APCR said, “Despite the suffering and loss they endured during the riots, where Nazmuddin’s barber shop and Ajeej’s home were looted, vandalized, and destroyed, the individuals were wrongfully accused and detained in February 2020. Their acquittal… relieves their families and highlights the need for fair legal processes.”
The pogrom was a response to the 2019 Muslim-led protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a discriminatory law that experts say could strip millions of Muslims of their citizenship. In December of 2019, an elected official from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kapil Mishra, led a pro-CAA rally in Delhi during which Hindu supremacists chanted slogans such as “shoot the traitors,” referring to Muslims. Just months, later, in February, “shoot the traitors” became the war cry of Hindu lynch mobs during the pogrom.
Following the pogrom, however, the state cracked down on Muslim activists and victims of mob attacks, accusing them of orchestrating the violence. In addition to arresting victims like Nazmuddin and Ajeej, the Indian government also arrested prominent anti-CAA activists, including Umar Khalid, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Khalid Saifi, and a number of other Muslim activists under blatantly false charges of terrorism.
A number of Muslim activists arrested after the Delhi pogrom remain incarcerated, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Gulfisha Fatima.
For those interested in speaking with IAMC experts on deteriorating human rights and religious freedoms in India, please contact: media.info@iamc.com
