A Greenpeace India activist was on Sunday stopped from boarding a flight to London by immigration officials here, prompting the environment group to accuse the government of intimidation, but official
A Greenpeace India activist was on Sunday stopped from boarding a flight to London by immigration officials here, prompting the environment group to accuse the government of intimidation, but officials said she was barred from leaving the country due to a look-out circular against her.
Greenpeace India claimed that its senior campaigner Priya Pillai, who was scheduled to address British parliamentarians on January 14 on the “infringement of rights of forest communities”, was “offloaded” despite having proper documents.
“I am shocked and saddened... Today my right to freedom of movement has been infringed and there was an attempt to treat me like a criminal,” Ms Pillai said in a statement issued by Greenpeace India.
She was invited by the British MPs to talk about her campaigning with local communities in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh, “where a proposed coal mining project threatens to uproot the lives and livelihoods of the forest and the community which lives there”, the statement claimed.
The statement claimed that Ms Pillai was informed by the airport authorities that she is now “banned” from leaving India, even though she has no criminal conviction.
The home ministry spokesperson refused to comment. However, official sources said that there is a look-out circular against Ms Pillai.
