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Jayapal and other U.S. lawmakers petition for Umar Khalid's bail
Umar Khalid was arrested in 2020 on charges including provisions of UAPA, following the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
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Jeffin T. Kaleekal - Fri, 02, Jan 2026
- 03:47 EST
- 22
(from left) Pramila Jayapal and Umar Khalid / Wikimedia commons
Indian-origin lawmaker Pramila Jayapal and 7 other U.S. Congress Members have written a letter to Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra on Dec. 30, 2025, urging India to ensure bail and free trial to jailed former student leader Umar Khalid.
Khalid was arrested in September 2020 under multiple charges including criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), following the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
The letter, which described Khalid as a "student activist and scholar", and expressed concern over his "prolonged pre-trial detention," was co-signed by Rep. Jim McGovern, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Lloyd Dogget, Rep. Rashid Tlaib, and U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen, and Peter Welch, along with Jayapal.
ALSO READ: Indian American Muslim Council Condemn Delhi High Court Bail Denial for Umar Khalid, Other Activists
The lawmakers alleged, "Khalid has been detained without bail for five years for charges levied under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), which independent human rights experts have warned may contravene international standards of equality before the law, due process, and proportionality."
The lawmakers also invoked the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), highlighting the rights of individuals to receive a "trial within a reasonable time or to [be released]" and "to be presumed innocent until proven guilty."
Apart from Khalid, the lawmakers also expressed concern over the arrests of Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Khalid Saifi, and pointed out that they have been identified as victims of freedom of religion or belief violations by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.
The letter became public on the heels of an unverified note to Umar Khalid from the newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, as shared by Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna. The hand-written note read, "I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one's self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you."
Khalid was recently granted interim bail for two weeks to attend his sister's wedding with bail conditions preventing him from using social media or from meeting people who are not his family members, relatives or friends.
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