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regular-article-logo Friday, 22 November 2024

Aware of reports on Rahul Gandhi's jail sentence: Spokesperson for UN chief

'We understand that his party does plan to appeal the decision'

PTI United Nations Published 24.03.23, 12:13 PM
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The United Nations is aware of the reports about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's two-year jail sentence and that his party plans to appeal the verdict, a spokesperson for the UN chief Antonio Guterres has said.

Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, was responding to a question at a press briefing here on Thursday on whether Guterres was “worried about democracy” in India.

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"I can say that we're aware of the reports regarding the case of Rahul Gandhi. We understand that his party does plan to appeal the decision. That's as much as I can say on that at this stage,” Haq said.

Gandhi was sentenced to two years in jail on Thursday by a Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case over his "Modi surname” remark, in a setback to the Lok Sabha MP who faces the risk of disqualification.

The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate HH Varma, which held 52-year-old Gandhi guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 499 and 500, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.

Gandhi took to Twitter to give his initial reaction by quoting Mahatma Gandhi in Hindi.

"My religion is based on truth and non-violence. Truth is my God, non-violence, the means to get it. - Mahatma Gandhi," he tweeted.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

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