The Delhi High Court has finally permitted Indian journalist Rana Ayyub to travel outside India, a week after she was prevented from taking a flight to Europe to speak in a series of lectures about the intimidation of journalists. 

VOA reported that on Monday, the court dismissed the Look Out Circular raised against Ms Ayyub, allowing her to travel on the condition that she share her detailed itinerary and return to India by April 11.

The court said the LOC “mala fide,” “devoid of merits,” and infringed on the “human right [of Ms Ayyub] to travel abroad and exercise her freedom of speech and expression.” 

On March 29, Ms Ayyub, a writer for The Washington Post, received an emailed summons from India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED), 14 minutes before her flight for London was to leave from Mumbai.

“I was stopped today at the Indian immigration while I was about to board my flight to London to deliver my speech on the intimidation of journalists with @ICFJ.

“I was to travel to Italy right after to deliver the keynote address at the @journalismfest on the Indian democracy,” Ms Ayyub tweeted. 

Julie Posetti, the vice president of global research at the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ) welcomes the new development, saying she is “thrilled that the New Delhi High Court has delivered justice and overruled the totally unjustified ban on Rana Ayyub’s right to travel to speak at international events about press freedom erosion in India and threats to women journalists online.”

In February, human rights experts at the United Nations said that Ms Ayyub had been subjected to “judicial harassment” and urged Indian authorities to investigate the “relentless misogynistic and sectarian” attacks on social media against her.