India asked to stop Harassing Anti-Nuclear Protesters

 Authorities in India should stop using sedition and other laws against activists and protesters who have peacefully opposed a nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu state, Human Rights Watch said today. In the latest incident, immigration officials on September 16, 2014, prevented the environmental activist S.P. Udayakumar from traveling out of the country because of various cases filed against him for leading protests at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.The Indian parliament should repeal the colonial-era sedition law, which has been repeatedly misused to harass activists and peaceful protesters. Since October 2011, police in Tamil Nadu state have filed thousands of complaints against local residents peacefully protesting the Kudankulam plant, accusing them of sedition and other serious crimes. While formal charges have rarely been brought, the complaints leave those targeted at risk of perpetual harassment by the authorities.“Indian authorities are misusing the sedition law to intimidate local residents and others who oppose the Kudankulam nuclear plant,” said  Meenakshi Ganguly,  South Asia director. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that the sedition law should only be applied when there is clear incitement to violence. So instead of bringing weak cases to court, the authorities are just filing complaints as harassment.”Villagers from fishing and other communities concerned about adverse effects on their health and livelihoods have protested against the plant in Tamil Nadu. Their fears were exacerbated by the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in the wake of a tsunami in 2011, since many in Tamil Nadu had experienced the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.