Open letter in India calls for withdrawal of go-ahead to prosecute Arundhati Roy

Over 200 signatories urge government to reverse decision enabling action against writer under anti-terrorism law

More than 200 Indian academics, activists and journalists have published an open letter urging the Indian government to withdraw last week's decision sanctioning the prosecution of the Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy under the country's stringent anti-terrorism law.

We ... deplore this action and appeal to the government and the democratic forces in the country to ensure that no infringement of the fundamental right to freely and fearlessly express views on any subject takes place in our nation," the group said in the letter.