The family of American citizen Matthew Van Dyke wants the United States government’s diplomatic intervention over his detention in India as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) prepares to probe him inside Delhi’s Tihar Jail in a terrorism-related case.
However, the Delhi Court denied both application requests on June 1st alleging foreign government communications. “Matthew has spent his life documenting human suffering and supporting people in crisis. We are pleading for his safe return home.
“His mother who is over 80, was only allowed a 5-minute emergency call with him months ago!
Matthew was too weak to stand or walk during a court appearance, and utilizes a wheelchair to meet with his attorneys,” Sons of Liberty International, the group Van Dyke founded, said in a statement. “This is a humanitarian emergency for our family,” Van Dyke’s mother, Sharon Van Dyke, said in the same statement released by Sons of Liberty. In their statement, Sons of Liberty said that Van Dyke’s lawyers, Advocates Rohit Dandriyal and Rohit Gour, applied to a Delhi court seeking permission for him to receive medical treatment at a private hospital and for proper communication to be established with his family in the US.
Those applications were rejected by the Delhi court on June 1, with the court citing issues relating to communications with a foreign government, according to the family. The family’s statement says Ambassador Gor had also briefed India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about Mr Van Dyke’s situation during a visit to Delhi between 24 and 26 May. He became known internationally during Libya’s civil war in 2011, when he joined rebel forces fighting against Muammar Gaddafi’s government and was subsequently imprisoned.
The family said Van Dyke was too weak to stand or walk during one court appearance and has since been using a wheelchair when meeting his lawyers.
