'Don't Want To Politicise, Will Fight This On Merits': Sonam Wangchuk's Wife Angmo On His Arrest

Gitanjali Angmo, wife of climate activist and education reformer Sonam Wangchuk, on Friday said she does not wish to politicise her husband's arrest but will fight the case legally and on its merits. Wangchuk was detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and shifted to Jodhpur Central Jail in Rajasthan for allegedly inciting violent protests in the Union Territory.

Speaking to ANI, Angmo confirmed that she has approached the Supreme Court seeking her husband's immediate release.
"We have support from every corner, but as I have said from the start, I do not want to politicise this issue because that is not aligned with Sonam's or my value system. We have always been apolitical. We want to fight this on its merits," Angmo said.
"At the same time, we accept and appreciate support from everywhere, from influencers, the media, political houses, NGOs and civil society, even retired major generals and members of the army. You have seen positive support come in from all quarters, and we are grateful to each of you. But we do not want this to become a political issue or a political agenda. Sonam has dedicated his life to science, education, the environment and the youth with purity of purpose. We want to carry this forward in that same spirit," she added.

She said that she would provide the petition's details at the proper time. "But overall, the immediate release should be sought under a habeas corpus petition because this is a detention we are challenging under the National Security Act (NSA)," she said.

She said that she needed orders to meet her husband to check on his condition, how he is, and where he is being held. So this petition is for his release, safety and protection, she said. "Anyone who sits with their conscience will arrive at the same answer: Sonam Wangchuk is not guilty. A great injustice is being done to him, and anyone can see that, and today, people everywhere want the truth to prevail," she said.
Angmo also alleged that her movements were being surveilled.

"I have come here (Delhi) to present Sonam's truth to the world because the internet was jammed and I was not being allowed to meet the media in Ladakh. My movements were being surveilled, so I came to Delhi to tell Sonam the truth about what is his right, and what the truth is about in front of the world. This is utterly unjust and wrong; we condemn these actions. It is condemnable to tail someone like that, to harass and to subject staff at an institution to physical and mental torture when nothing is found in their papers," she said.

"If Sonam has been taken under the NSA, we are challenging that we are not doing any other activity; we are handling this legally and constitutionally, as is right. I therefore request that this be done with full grace, in accordance with the Constitution, the mother of democracies and that you not carry out such low-level activities that physically and mentally torture people or follow Sonam Wangchuk's wife around Delhi," she added.

Earlier, Gitanjali J Angmo slammed the Centre and alleged police torture against the people of Ladakh after the September 24 violence in the Union Territory. Comparing the current situation in Ladakh to that during British India, she said that the Union Home Ministry is "misusing" the Ladakh Police. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)