Greenpeace employee denied entry

Months after one of its campaigners was "offloaded" from a flight, Greenpeace India on Monday (June 8) claimed that a member of its international staff was denied entry into India despite having valid documents. According to the NGO, Aaron Gray-Block, a member of Greenpeace International, had flown in from Sydney on Saturday to take part in a series of meetings with staff here. He was travelling on an Australian passport. In a statement here today, Greenpeace India claimed that no formal reason was given by immigration officials in Bangalore for the decision to turn back Gray-Block, who was not officially deported. "Our colleague has a valid business visa, and yet he was prevented from entering India with no reason given. "There is absolutely no reason why one of (Greenpeace International's) staff members should be treated in such an arbitrary way, and we expect the Ministry of Home Affairs to offer a full explanation," said Divya Raghunandan, Programme Director, Greenpeace India.