Arvind Kejriwal arrest: After Germany, US encourages ‘fair, transparent’ legal process

The US has said that it is closely following reports of the recent arrest of Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and added that it encourages a “fair” and “transparent” legal process. This comes just days after Germany had also urged for an “impartial” trial for the Delhi CM, evoking a sharp response from India.

“We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” a US State Department spokesperson said in response to an emailed query about the case in which India summoned a German envoy on Saturday to protest against his government’s remarks about the arrest.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday last week in connection to alleged irregularities in the excise policy.

On Friday, Germany had raised concerns   regarding Kejriwal’s arrest. “We assume and expect that the standards relating to independence of judiciary and basic democratic principles will also be applied in this case,” the German foreign ministry had said.

The remarks had prompted the MEA to summon German deputy envoy Georg Enzweiler “to convey India’s strong protest”. The MEA also said that the German Foreign Ministry’s remarks on Kejriwal’s arrest were an interference in India’s judicial process and any “biased assumptions” were “most unwarranted”, an official said.

Asked about India’s protest to Germany, the US State Department spokesperson said: “We would refer you to the German Foreign Ministry for comment on their discussions with the Indian government.”

India’s Washington embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the State Department’s reaction.