Aakar Patel, ex-Amnesty India head, was supposed to speak at these three US universities

Aakar Patel, ex-Amnesty India head and author of Price Of The Modi Years, was scheduled to attend multiple conferences, organised by three universities in the United States.

Aakar Patel was going to speak at conferences organised by the University of Michigan, University of Berkeley, and New York University, on the human rights situation in India, as per a statement by Amnesty International.

“ On Wednesday, Aakar Patel was on his way to attend multiple conferences on the use of social media for social and political change and the attacks on the civil society in India organised by the University of Michigan, University of Berkeley, and New York University in the United States of America. Immigration authorities at the Bangalore Airport prevented him from leaving the country despite a judicial order permitting him to travel outside India for his speaking engagements,” said Amnesty International in a statement further criticising the crackdown on human rights defenders and activists in India and urging the government to lift the arbitrary ban on Aakar Patel, who still serves as Chair of Amnesty International India Board.

Aakar Patel, who is in the news after he was stopped at Bengaluru International Airport over a lookout notice against him by the CBI based on a 2019 case registered against Amnesty International India under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, was ordered by a special CBI court on Friday not to leave the country without the agency's permission and stayed a magistrate's decision that the CBI's Director apologises to the writer-activist.