Irom Sharmila: India hunger striker re-arrested

Irom Sharmila Chanu began a hunger strike after 10 civilians were killed by Indian soldiers in 2000

Indian activist Irom Sharmila Chanu, who has been on a hunger strike for 14 years, has been re-arrested two days after she was freed on a court order.

Ms Chanu has been fasting since 2000 to protest against a controversial law in the state of Manipur, which gave the Indian armed forces sweeping powers.

On Friday, a group of policewomen forcibly removed her from the fast site in the state capital, Imphal.

Television footage showed them putting her in a jeep and driving away.

Ms Chanu was arrested in 2000 and held in judicial custody in a hospital where she was force-fed through a pipe in her nose.

She was freed on Wednesday after the court rejected the charge that she was "attempting to commit suicide".

On her release, she had vowed to continue her fast until the government agreed to her demand to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) which gives soldiers sweeping powers to arrest people without warrants and even shoot to kill in certain situations.

Ms Chanu began a hunger strike after 10 civilians were killed by Indian soldiers.

Her protest has won her worldwide recognition, with Amnesty International describing her as a prisoner of conscience.