On Tuesday, December 20, the US District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the defamation suit filed by the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) against Hindus for Human Rights co-founders Sunita Vishwanath and Raju Rajagopal, Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) executive director Rasheed Ahmed, Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations of North America (FIACONA) chairman John Prabhudoss, and Rutgers University professor Audrey Truschke.
The HAF had accused them of conspiring to defame the foundation. Al Jazeera journalist Raqib Hameed Naik was named as a co-conspirator but not a party in the main lawsuit.
US District Judge Amit Mehta although dismissed the defamation suit filed by HAF, noted that Hindus for Human Rights co-founder Sunita Vishwanath’s claim that HAF has parent organisations in India is “plausibly verifiably false.” The court also observed that some of the statements given by Rutgers University professor Audrey Truschke about HAF Board member Rajiv Pandit are “arguably verifiably false.”
In its lawsuit, HAF had contended that its “reputation, and ability to raise funds has been injured due to the defamatory statements given by the defendants. The court agreed to HAF’s allegation that the foundation suffered “torturous injury” in the district due to the allegedly defamatory statements.
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