NEW DELHI: Greenpeace said yesterday a British staff member had been barred from entering India despite having a valid visa, in what it described as part of a “systematic clampdown” by authorities in New Delhi.
Ben Hargreaves was on his way to a meeting in India when immigration officials stopped him at Delhi airport last week and put him on a flight back to London without any explanation, said a statement from the international environmental campaign group.
It said he was carrying a valid business visa and had travelled in the country before.
India’s new government tightened controls on foreign fund transfers to Greenpeace India in June following an Indian Intelligence Bureau report accusing activist groups of “stalling development projects” by protesting against power projects, mining and genetically modified food.
A court later directed the authorities to unblock funds destined for the organisation.
“This looks like yet another incident of what has become a systematic clampdown by the government on Greenpeace and its staff,” said Samit Aich, Executive Director of Greenpeace India.
“But we are not deterred by such undemocratic acts... no act of intimidation will break our resolve to protect the environment.”
The foreign ministry referred questions on the matter to the home ministry, which did not immediately return calls for comment. John Sauven, executive director of Greenpeace UK, called the incident “unacceptable”.
AFP
