In last year's national elections, two people that the Indian government has jailed under various national security and terrorism laws were allowed to participate and actually won their respective contests.[1][2] While they were allowed to take their oaths in parliament, they continue to be in jail due to the charges against them.
The trials will take place, eventually. Or some other accommodation will be arrived at. After all, 50m court cases are pending in Indian courts at various levels and these things take their own sweet time.
The point is, people were allowed to vote for their preferred candidate in elections in spite of the security apparatus of the State considering them to be terrorists. This is democracy.
If prominent politicians in Europe are prevented from standing for elections while the European Union lectures the developing world about the lack of "democracy," why should anyone take these clowns seriously?