Thursday 5 March 2015

India rape film: Leslee Udwin rejects Delhi legal action


 

Indian girls take a pledge to act towards stopping atrocity on women on the second anniversary of the deadly gang rape of a student on a bus in Delhi, in Ahmadabad, December 16, 2014The 2012 gang rape was regarded as a watershed moment for India's attitudes towards the crime
A British film-maker has defended an interview with a convicted Indian rapist, hours after authorities there launched a slew of legal measures.
Leslee Udwin denies claims that she broke a contract with the prison by airing the interview with the rapist, convicted over the 2012 Delhi bus rape.
She said India's legal actions, including a request for a global ban, had no legal or practical basis.
The film has been banned in India, but the BBC showed it in the UK.
In the interview, rapist Mukesh Singh, who is facing the death penalty, shows no remorse.
The 23-year-old student, who died days after the attack in December 2012, was repeatedly beaten and gang-raped while being driven around Delhi in a bus.
In the interview, Singh suggested she might have survived if she had not fought back.
Earlier in the week a Delhi court issued an injunction against the film after police argued the interview contained offensive remarks towards women, and could cause a public outcry.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has since promised an inquiry into how access was gained to the prison, and threatened unspecified action against the BBC for airing the film.
Tihar Jail, which allowed the interview, has alleged that Udwin broke an agreement by not allowing officials to vet her footage.
But Udwin has insisted that she followed all the correct procedures.
"I wrote an impassioned letter to the director general of prisons. She granted her in principle permission," Udwin told the BBC.
"The Ministry of Home Affairs then granted a written signed permission. I got a signed permission from the convict in this case and a permission signed by the prison."
Udwin earlier told a news conference she had given the prison all 16 hours of footage from her interview, but officials watched only three hours before telling her there was too much material.
She then submitted a shorter version, which was approved.
She added that she was confident the decision to ban the film would be overturned in Delhi's High Court.

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