On 10th April 27-year-old Safoora Zargar, was arrested by the Delhi Police. She was later charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Zargar, a research student associated with the Jamia Millia University at present resides in Tihar Jail. She is also three months pregnant.
Recently, Amnesty International, in an article highlighting the risk faced by dissenters amidst the COVID-19 pandemic said that prior to the Delhi riots she had been part of the Jamia Coordination Committee and had been involved in organising peaceful protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.
According to the article, she has not been able to meet with her lawyer or her husband since April 14.
The internet can be a rather unfeeling ad unpleasant place at times, and recently, many caught a glimpse of its darker side, as netizens came out in droves to aim vitriolic comments at her.
While many of the comments were on the unpleasant side, and it would be in poor taste to reproduce them, they all appeared to be along the same lines. While some contended themselves with spouting religious bigotry, others mocked her pregnancy and the fact that she had been a part of the protests.
On Monday, Umar Khalid spoke out in support of Zargar, citing an article that quoted her sister Sameeya.
"If words had any worth @SameeyaZ , just want to say that in these difficult and testing times, your family is not alone. Millions of justice loving people of India are with Safoora & your family," he wrote.
In her open letter, posted on Twitter, Zargar's sister had spoken about how she and her family were doing.
"First things first, our family is doing okay- scared, in anticipation, sometimes crying but it's part of the process don't worry," she writes. Sameeya also spoke about how the coronavirus lockdown had made it increasingly difficult to make contact with her sister.
"Sorry but no matter how excruciatingly hard this is, I won't let myself believe that you or us cannot take it. I know you'll top this like all those exams and make the rest of us look like fools," she adds.
