Rana Ayyub 

Journalist and WHRD

Maharashtra

On March 29, 2022, Ms. Rana Ayyub was stopped by immigration officials at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai based on a lookout circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The ED is investigating a case of money laundering by Ms. Ayyub based on a complaint made in September 2021 that alleges that Ms. Ayyub diverted funds that had been collected for Covid relief work.

This action continues the harassment meted out to Ms. Ayyub. HRDA had sent an urgent appeal in March for another case registered against her in Karnataka. The UN special rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion and expression have called the attacks on Ms. Ayyub to be “relentless, misogynistic and sectarian”

HRDA has sent an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission to urgently order an immediate, thorough, transparent, effective, and impartial investigation into Ms. Rana Ayyub being denied her right to free movement at the Mumbai International Airport on basis of a look-out notice against her.