The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has confirmed that it has not dropped any terror charges against American national Matthew Aaron VanDyke. This statement comes in response to recent reports suggesting that VanDyke might be evading the strict provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The investigation into the charges against him is ongoing, and no updates have indicated a change in his legal status.
VanDyke has been in custody for illegally entering India to go to Myanmar for training ethnic insurgents in drone warfare and other kinds of warfighting. If the chargesheet is not filed within this period, the accused can apply for bail. VanDyke has left behind a large digital footprint going back over a decade. “We are not sending foreigners over to fight wars for other people. We’re sending people over who can help the local population fight wars for themselves. Whether that explains his presence in India, and the allegation that he went to Myanmar to train ethnic armed organisations (EAOs), are matters still under investigation. He runs the security firm, Sons of Liberty International. “There are no other groups that are working with Christian militias that we work with. Liberty is a universal right.
Because the charges under this law have already been established during the investigation, sources said, the only difference now is that the NIA filed a chargesheet under the Immigration and Foreigners Act (IFA). Because the UAPA provisions are not part of the IFA chargesheet, sources said that it is wrong to assume UAPA investigation has been withdrawn, abandoned or closed just. Explaining the technicalities of the matter, sources said VanDyke and six Ukrainians were charged under Section 18 of the UAPA after they were arrested in March. Under the UAPA framework, the investigating agency can have up to 180 days to complete the probe while an accused remains in custody. In the VanDyke case, the statutory period of 180 days of judicial custody would end on September 8. In the series on VanDyke’s work made after ISIS began taking cities after cities in Iraq starting 2014, he spoke about training Iraqis to kill them.
In fact, investigation into offences under the UAPA is continuing against all seven of them, sources said. However, with offences under the Immigration and Foreigners Act already established, the NIA filed a chargesheet for those offences rather than allow the statutory period to end, sources said. They said this move in no way suggested closure of the larger investigation. The chargesheet itself recorded that investigation under the UAPA continues, sources said, adding the law allows further investigation after the filing of a chargesheet and also the filing of supplementary chargesheets. US diplomats have said that asking about the case of any detained American citizen is a normal diplomatic practice. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also said that whenever an Indian is arrested abroad, Indian missions there approach the local foreign office and authorities for consular access, legal assistance and fair treatment. In one of them, he explained how he recruited “fighters” to be sent to wars across the world to help the local population fight for themselves. We have a limited amount of time, possibly only four to six weeks, to get them trained, ready to take part in the offensive,” VanDyke said. I want Sons of Liberty to be able to change the course of history,” VanDyke said in a show by the YouTube channel, History NOW, over a decade ago.
