Front Line is deeply saddened by news of the killing of human rights defender Mr Amit Jethwa in Gujarat on 20 July 2010. Amit Jethwa was a Public Interest Law Practitioner and Right to Information (RTI) Activist.

On 20 July 2010, Amit Jethwa was shot dead as he approached his car after leaving the Gujarat High Court building where he had been meeting with his lawyer. Witnesses in the vicinity of the shooting reported seeing Amit Jethwa being approached by two individuals on a motorcycle. After being shot the human rights defender was able to throw himself at his assailants and knock them from their motorcycle. They fled on foot, leaving behind the vehicle, the revolver and a bag. Amit Jethwa died at the scene prior to the arrival of the ambulance.

Amit Jethwa had filed several petitions in the Gujarat High Court against the forest department. On the day of the killing he had been meeting with his lawyer in relation to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that he had filed in June. The PIL concerned illegal mining in the Gir forests of Junagadh district on the Kathiawar peninsula in Western Gujarat.