Former Amnesty India Chief Aakar Patel stopped at Bengaluru airport from flying abroad

Aakar Patel, chair of human rights organisation Amnesty International India, on April 6 said he was stopped from travelling to the U.S. from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru. In a post on social media, he said he was informed by immigration officials that he had been put on the exit control list by the CBI even though he got his passport back through a court order specifically for the U.S. trip. Tagging the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the activist then said he was told by the immigration that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has put him on 'the list.’

For the unversed, the CBI had previously filed a case against Amnesty International over alleged irregularities in foreign funding in connection with violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) in 2019.Officials said the CBI registered the case on 5 November 2021, following a complaint lodged by the Home Ministry for alleged violation of the provision of the FCRA, 2010 and the Indian Penal Code. Patel also shared on Twitter images of the court order granting him permission to travel abroad upon the deposit of an amount of Rs 2 lakh. The CBI, in November, had conducted raids at the Amnesty International India’s Bengaluru and Delhi offices. The raid had come after the ED issued a show-cause to it for “violation of the foreign exchange law to the tune of over Rs 51 crore,” officials said. The case was registered against Amnesty International India Pvt Ltd (AIIPL), Indians For Amnesty International Trust (IAIT), Amnesty International India Foundation Trust (AIIFT), Amnesty International South Asia Foundation (AISAF) and others.