Zohran Mamdani and US Congress members voice support for jailed activist Umar Khalid

Democratic representatives write to India envoy citing weak evidence seek bail for Delhi riots accused as Supreme Court prepares to hear national plea

Zohran Mamdani,

Zohran Mamdani, who took oath as New York City mayor on Thursday, and eight members of the US Congress have expressed support for Umar Khalid and several activists behind bars on charges of terrorism for their participation in protests against the new citizenship regimen in 2020.

Police have linked the stir to communal riots in the capital in February 2020, and 12 of the 18 accused remain behind bars awaiting trial, and are repeatedly refused bail.

The push from elected representatives of the Democratic Party came after Khalid’s parents met some of them, including Mamdani, during a trip to the US last month.

Khalid’s father S.Q.R. Ilyas said that he and his wife had met Mamdani on December 9, 2025, during a personal trip to the US.

Ilyas said: “He Zohran Mamdani asked what he could do for Umar… He suggested that we could meet US Congressmen to request them to write to the government of India. We met representative James McGovern and a few others later in Washington DC. He also gave a letter for Umar.”

In his letter, which was posted by Khalid’s friend Banojyotsna Lahiri on Thursday, Zohran Mamdani wrote: “Umar, I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents.”

He added: “We are all thinking of you.”

In 2023, Mamdani had read out on stage an open letter to Khaled, expressing solidarity.

House of Representatives members McGovern, Jamie Raskin, Pramila Jayapal, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib, and Lloyd Doggett, and senators Chris Van Hollen and Peter Welch wrote to Indian ambassador to the U S Vinay Mohan Kwatra on December 30, urging for bail to Khalid upon which the Supreme Court is due to decide.

They said:

“The strength of the evidence used to charge Mr Khalid with terrorism namely, the statements of secret witnesses and a misinterpreted speech, is dubious. Independent investigations conducted by reputable human rights groups did not find evidence linking Mr Khalid to terrorist activity.”

The leaders also noted that several of the individuals accused in these cases, including Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, amongst others, were identified as victims of freedom of religion or belief violations by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

New York City’s Indian-original mayor, Zohran Mamdani has sent a handwritten letter to jailed activist Umar Khalid.

The 34-year-old, who became the city’s first Asian American and Muslim mayor last year, handed over the note to Khalid’s parents when he met them during their trip to the US in December 2025.

On Thursday, the day Mamdani was sworn in, Khalid’s partner, Bunojyotsana Lahiri, shared a photo of the note in a post on

Lahiri told HT that Umar’s parents — Sahiba Khanam and Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas — had visited the US just before the wedding of their youngest daughter to meet one of their elderly daughters who lives there since she was not going to be able to attend.

They met Mamdani and a few others in the US and spent fairly some time with him. That’s when he wrote this note,” she said.

Khalid, who has been in prison since 2020 under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), was given interim bail in December to attend his sister’s wedding.

Lahiri said that Umar spent all his time at home as his bail terms did not allow him to step out. “But it went by so fast as it did the two times earlier he was out on bail. He had home-cooked food which his mother often fed him and he spent a lot of time with his nieces and nephews.”

In 2023, at an event in New York last year, Mamdani read aloud from a letter Khalid had written which he said he kept trying to tell himself not to turn bitter about his circumstances and look at them from a greater perspective.

Meanwhile, Congress member James P McGovern has written to India’s ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra, expressing concern over the pre-trial incarceration of people accused in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots.

In his letter, McGovern said, “For allegedly instigating the violence, authorities issued charges against Umar Khalid and other Muslim rights defenders. Human rights organizations, legal experts, and global media have raised questions about the fairness of the investigation and legal process… Independent investigations conducted by reputable human rights groups did not find evidence linking Mr. Khalid to terrorist activity.”

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), India must uphold the rights of individuals to receive a ‘trial within a reasonable time or to be released’ and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

Eight US Democratic lawmakers have written to India’s Ambassador in Washington, seeking bail and a fair, timely trial for activist Umar Khalid, who has been in prison for over five years without trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), raising concerns over prolonged pretrial detention and international legal standards.

The letter, led by US Representatives Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin, urges Indian officials to grant Khalid bail and ensure that his trial begins without further delay.

Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student, was arrested in connection with the alleged greater conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots and has remained incarcerated since then.

Besides McGovern and Raskin, the signatories to the letter include Democratic lawmakers Chris Van Hollen, Peter Welch, Pramila Jayapal, Jan Schakowsky, Rashida Tlaib and Lloyd Doggett.

While underscoring their “respect for India’s democratic institutions,” the lawmakers questioned how Khalid’s continued detention without the commencement of trial aligns with international legal norms.

They also sought an explanation for why judicial proceedings have not yet commenced more than five years after his arrest.

In the letter, the lawmakers pushed New Delhi to ensure that Khalid is afforded due process and that his case is heard in a fair and timely manner.

They flagged concerns over the prolonged use of pretrial detention under India’s anti-terror law and its implications for civil liberties.

McGovern subsequently amplified the appeal via a social media post, stating that he had met Khalid’s parents in Washington earlier this month.

“Earlier this month, I met with the parents of Umar Khalid, who has been jailed in India for over five years without trial,” wrote McGovern.

He added that he and Raskin were leading their colleagues in urging Indian officials to grant Khalid bail and a fair, timely trial in accordance with international law.

The intervention by the US lawmakers comes even as Indian courts have granted Khalid interim bail on limited occasions.

On December 11, a Delhi court granted Khalid interim bail from December 16 to 29 to attend his sister’s wedding.

According to a PTI report, Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai allowed the interim relief in the case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

The court directed Khalid to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount.

During the interim bail period, the court imposed several conditions, including a restriction on the use of social media.

Khalid was directed to meet only family members, relatives and friends and to remain at his home or at venues where the wedding ceremonies were scheduled to take place.

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