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2014-09-29 Government
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US Federal Court Issues Summons Against Narendra Modi
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[THEDIPLOMAT] Some 24 hours before he arrives in the United States on his first visit to the country as prime minster, the U.S. Federal Court of the Southern District of New York issued a summons against Narendra Modi regarding his alleged involvement in the 2002 Godhra riots, in his home state of Gujarat
...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime...
. The summons requires Modi to respond within 21 days of receipt, barring which the court will decide in default against Modi for the damages sought by the plaintiffs. According to The Hindu, the summons "charges PM Modi with committing crimes against humanity, extra-judicial killings, torture and inflicting mental and physical trauma on the victims, mostly from the Moslem community."
This is stupid on probably a hundred different levels, starting with the fact that Modi is the head of a friendly government. The fact that the Gujrat riots were an internal affair of India, and only India, is Stupid #2.
The summons was issued in connection with a lawsuit filed by the American Justice Center (AJC), a non-profit human rights
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...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state...
organization representing the plaintiffs in the case who have been described as "two survivors of the horrific and organised violence of Gujarat 2002." The riots in question took place under Modi's tenure as chief minister of Gujarat. While the Supreme Court of India found no evidence of Modi's complicity in enabling the riots, many of the prime minister's critics allege that his inaction allowed several hundred Moslems to perish at the hands of Hindu rioters. The Indian government's official corpse count of the riots counts 790 Moslems and 254 Hindus among the victims. Another 2500 were maimed and 223 were reported missing.
According to the plaintiffs, the case carries legal weight in the United States under the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 federal law that grants U.S. federal courts the power to "hear lawsuits filed by U.S. residents for acts committed in violation of international law outside the U.S." The summons is required of the court in order to impose its jurisdiction.
The summons is already making headlines in India and could negatively color Modi's trip to the United States. Modi was famously denied a U.S. visa in 2005 when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, leading many to question how the United States would respond should he win the election for India's top political office. The U.S. government and politicians have been nothing but positive about Modi's leadership since his election, but the summons will bring to the surface issues that the Indian government would rather avoid during Modi's inaugural visit to the United States as prime minister. The United States denied Modi a visa in 2005 under a little-invoked U.S. law on religious freedom. As of today, Modi remains the only person to have ever been denied a visa to the United States under that law. 
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Posted by Fred 2014-09-29 00:00||
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Posted by SteveS 2014-09-29 22:29||
2014-09-29 22:29||
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Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2014-09-29 22:43||
2014-09-29 22:43||
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