Indian activist living in Finland arrested in Poland on Indian extradition request
www.helsinkitimes.fi
Indian national Sanal Edamaruku, a secular activist living in exile in Finland, has been arrested in Poland based on a notice issued by Indian authorities. According to Rationalist International, the organisation Edamaruku founded, he was detained at Warsaw Modlin Airport on 28 March. He had travelled to Poland to attend a human rights conference.

Edamaruku is wanted in India on blasphemy charges. The Indian government issued an Interpol red notice, prompting Polish authorities to detain him. India is now seeking his extradition.

He moved to Finland in 2012 following the charges, and has remained there since.

The charges against Edamaruku stem from a 2012 incident in Mumbai. After reports of a crucifix dripping water, Edamaruku examined the site and concluded the liquid was leaking sewage, not evidence of a miracle. His statements angered the Catholic Church and led to the blasphemy accusations.

Edamaruku gained international visibility in the 1990s when a BBC documentary followed his work exposing so-called miracles across India. He has publicly advocated for secularism and scientific reasoning and has been a prominent critic of superstition and religious dogma.

The threat to his life is very real. In 2012, Narendra Dabholkar, another rationalist, was murdered in borad daylight in a fairly wealthy city (Pune) by a Hindu organisation, Sanatan Sanstha. Govind Pansare was murdered in 2015, Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore in her own house in 2017 (in a very safe part of the city, too) and M M Kalburgi in 2015.

This organisation was also involved in planting bombs in 2008 and 2009 across cities. It is common knowledge that they are a terrorist organisation protected by the Hindu nationalist government.