Sanal’s detention is deeply concerning as it follows years of transnational persecution since he was forced to flee in 2012 after exposing the true cause of a so-called “miracle” — a “weeping” statue in Mumbai — which turned out to be faulty plumbing. He was charged with blasphemy, faced death threats and public vilification.

This current move to extradite him now appears to be a continuation of that campaign, particularly given that Poland itself has a record of arresting artists and activists for “offending religious feelings.” Now it is aiding a transnational effort to punish secular voices — the very voices that refuse to bow to authoritarianism in priestly robes.

India was founded on the promise of secularism, but it is far from a safe haven for secularists and rationalists today given the rise of the Hindu-Right. In recent years, multiple prominent rationalists — including Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M. M. Kalburgi, and Gauri Lankesh — have been assassinated for challenging religious superstition and political extremism. If Sanal is returned to India, he faces not only legal persecution but a very real threat to his life.
Sanal himself once said of his murdered friend Narendra Dabholkar: “They killed him because they were afraid of him. Because he made people think. That’s what they fear the most — thinking.”

Ex-Muslims International know this reality all too well. Many of us are also living in exile — driven from our homelands by oppressive, autocratic regimes that value religious dogma over human life, dignity, and freedom. We stand in solidarity with Sanal and all apostates, rationalists, and truth-seekers around the world — unshaken, defiant, and united.