Thread by @HinduAmerican

#Breaking: @HinduAmerican files suit in D.C. U.S. District Court against directors of @IAMCouncil, @Fiacona_us, co-founders of @Hindus4HR and @Rutgers_Newark’s Audrey Truschke, for defamation and a conspiracy to defame HAF. 1/
hinduamerican.org/press/haf-defa…

The suit was filed after Truschke, Rasheed Ahmed, Sunita Vishwanath, Raju Rajagopal & John Prabhudoss ignored cease and desist letters requesting that false & defamatory statements made about HAF to unnamed co-conspirator @raqib_naik and published in @AJEnglish be withdrawn. 2/

The suit outlines how defendants used the ‘Coalition to Stop Genocide in India’ as cover to make defamatory statements against HAF & demand the US govt start an investigation into HAF and other Hindu organizations for allegedly using Federal funds to “sponsor hate” in India. 3/

Truschke, who has worked closely on a number of occasions with IAMC, HfHR, and Sadhana — all organizations controlled or operated by the other defendants — went on the republish & amplify the defamatory statements & falsely accuse HAF of organizing violent threats against her. 4/

@HinduAmerican’s Samir Karla: ‘The claims of financial impropriety made in the Al Jazeera articles are verifiably false, as all of HAF’s financial documents are publicly available. HAF strongly rejects insinuations of dual loyalty to India any accusations of spreading hatred.’ 5/

@SuhagAShukla: “This isn’t just about defending HAF’s hard-earned reputation as a leading education and human rights organization. This is about fighting back against coordinated attacks against Hindu Americans in the public space,” said Suhag Shukla, HAF’s Executive Director. 6/

“From organizations serving community needs to candidates running for public office to students exploring their Hindu identity on college campuses — the defendants have relentlessly intimidated, harassed & silenced Hindu Americans. This will no longer come without a cost.” 7/

Lawsuit shows that @raqib_naik, rather than simply being a journalist, has deep connections with both IAMC & HfHR, serving on IAMC’s executive team. Naik was listed as a speaker for “News and Media Outreach” at a IAMC quarterly planning meeting discussing media strategy. 8/

HAF is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from the named parties; a permanent injunction against further dissemination of the defamatory statements; a public retraction of the Al Jazeera articles; and, payment of HAF’s legal fees.

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