Hyderabad, Feb. 1 -- A group of 150 prominent writers, filmmakers and activists including senior journalist Ramachandra Guha, author Amitav Ghosh, film actor Naseeruddin Shah and former Member of Rajya Sabha Rajmohan Gandhi have united their voices to seek freedom for student activist Umar Khalid alongside other Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest detainees.

In this joint statement, they strongly opposed the prolonged Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) detention without trial or bail which has forced these defendants to endure years in prison.

These signatories comprise a group that includes historian Romila Thapar, US-based scholars Gayatri Chakravarty and Akeel Bilgrami as well as Magsaysay awardee Sandeep Pandey and huma...