India court grants bail to US citizen accused of illegal entry

An Indian court granted bail on Friday to a US citizen arrested six months ago for allegedly entering northeastern India illegally before crossing into Myanmar, the man's lawyer said.

Matthew VanDyke was detained in March along with six Ukrainians after India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) accused them of entering the northeastern state of Mizoram without the required permits before heading to Myanmar.

Indian media reports said he entered Myanmar to train rebel groups.

Myanmar descended into civil war after a junta seized power in a 2021 coup, with pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic-minority armed groups fighting for control of large parts of the country.

India has long been suspicious of certain Myanmar factions that have the same ethnicity as populations on the Indian side of the border, fearing a spillover of violence and unrest.

VanDyke secured bail because prosecutors did not charge him under India's stringent anti-terror legislation, his lawyer Rohit Dandriyal told AFP.

"The NIA could not oppose the bail plea after 180 days of custody under the Foreigners Act," Dandriyal said.

The status of the six Ukrainians was not immediately clear.

Before his arrest in India, VanDyke was known as an American documentary filmmaker and founder of Sons of Liberty International, a US-based non-profit organisation that says it trains local forces resisting authoritarian regimes.

VanDyke joined anti-Muammar Gaddafi rebels during Libya's 2011 uprising, where he was captured and held as a prisoner for several months before escaping, according to his website.

Since the coup in Myanmar, thousands of refugees from have crossed into India, seeking shelter from fighting between junta forces and rebel fighters.

In response to the deteriorating security situation, India is building a 1,643-kilometre (1,020-mile) fence along its porous border with Myanmar, which runs through remote jungles and snow-capped Himalayan peaks.