Overview
- Eight Democrats led by Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin sent a December 30 letter to Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra urging bail for Umar Khalid and the prompt start of his trial.
- The signatories — Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch and Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib and Lloyd Doggett — questioned prolonged pretrial detention under the UAPA and asked what steps ensure proceedings meet international standards.
- The lawmakers cited rights inquiries that reported no evidence linking Khalid to terrorist activity and criticized the case’s reliance on protected witnesses and construed speech.
- Khalid, a former JNU student arrested in September 2020 in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots that left 53 dead and hundreds injured, has repeatedly been denied regular bail, with his plea now before the Supreme Court.
- Fresh attention also came as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent a handwritten note to Khalid via his parents, and after a Delhi court granted him tightly conditioned interim bail from December 16–29 for his sister’s wedding before he returned to custody.