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AP National

Rahul Gandhi avoids prison as he appeals defamation verdict

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Published 2:30 AM

By KRUTIKA PATHI
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — A court has suspended a two-year prison sentence for Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as he appeals his criminal conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname. The conviction resulted in Gandhi’s expulsion from Parliament, dealing a huge blow to his Congress party ahead of general elections next year. Gandhi, a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his main challenger in the 2024 polls, was ousted after a court sentenced him to two years in prison for defamation for a comment made in a 2019 election speech. The prosecution of Gandhi was widely condemned by opponents of Modi as the latest assault against democracy and free speech by a government seeking to crush dissent.

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