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Month: April 2020

‘Especially Inhuman’: Romila Thapar, Others Write to CJI Bobde On Teltumbde, Navlakha

‘Especially Inhuman’: Romila Thapar, Others Write to CJI Bobde On Teltumbde, Navlakha

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

‘Like all fair-minded citizens, we are shocked that the prosecution has not been held accountable to the spirit of the law.’
New Delhi: As the Supreme Court’s one-week period to surrender comes to an end on April 14, the arrest of social activists and intellectuals Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad case is now inevitable. The two, if arrested, will join the nine other human rights activists and lawyers languishing in Maharashtra’s jails for close to two years.
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Dalit leaders condemn Anand Teltumbde’s arrest on 14 April

Dalit leaders condemn Anand Teltumbde’s arrest on 14 April

The Caravan / by Siddesh Gautam

Dalit leaders condemned the SC’s order to arrest Anand Teltumbde. Teltumbde is married to Ambedkar’s granddaughter. The Caravan published the full, unedited text of the statement:

Jai Bhim!
Coinciding with the upcoming Ambedkar Jayanti, Dr. Anand Teltumbde, one of India’s foremost public intellectuals and the strongest legatee of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s tradition of struggling for a truly democratic India, will be complying with the Supreme Court’s order to surrender to the jail authorities. He will be surrendering on the 14th April 2020, between 12 noon – 2 pm at the Sessions Court in Mumbai. This is both tragic and shameful for all Dalits, Adivasis, OBC, and minorities on many counts for all of India.
Read full statement

‘Witch Hunt’: Activists Speak Out Against Teltumbde, Navlakha’s Impending Arrests

‘Witch Hunt’: Activists Speak Out Against Teltumbde, Navlakha’s Impending Arrests

Posters by Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy / @MumbaiRises

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

‘It is ironical that Teltumbde, a Dalit intellectual, will be arrested on April 14, the 129th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.’
New Delhi: Eminent writers, commentators, and political leaders came together on Saturday to condemn the impending arrest of social activists and intellectuals Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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ACTIVISTS TO PROTEST SC ORDER DIRECTING TELTUMBDE AND NAVALKHA TO SURRENDER

12/04/2020

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Decision taken at web conference of Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy.
A group of civil society activists has called for an online protest against the Supreme Court’s recent direction asking professor Anand Teltumbde to surrender before jail authorities within a week in connection with the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon case.
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Statement by Front Line Defenders: Human Rights Defenders falsely accused

Statement by Front Line Defenders: Human Rights Defenders falsely accused

By Front Line Defenders

On 8 April 2020, the Supreme Court of India granted a period of one week for human rights defenders Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha to surrender in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. The human rights defenders and nine other human rights defenders currently in jail stand falsely accused of being responsible for violence that broke out in Bhima Koregaon on 1 January 2018.
Read full statement

SC Decision To Send Gautam Navlakha And Anand Teltumbde To Jail Is Cruel And Disappointing

SC Decision To Send Gautam Navlakha And Anand Teltumbde To Jail Is Cruel And Disappointing

By Amnesty International

Amid the spread of COVID-19, the Supreme Court of India’s order directing the arrest and imprisonment of two human rights defenders, Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha within a week, is disappointing. The order is also at odds with the court’s previous ruling where it directed the states to decongest the country’s overcrowded prisons to prevent the spread of the pandemic, thereby posing a risk to the health of the two activists, said Amnesty International India today.
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Campaign by AI: Demand The Release Of The Bhima Koregaon 9 Now!


In 2018, as part of a massive crackdown on human rights defenders in India, nine prominent activists– Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao were arrested by the Pune Police.
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Video: Bhima Koregaon 9: Heroes Who Fight For Your Rights

en | 6:18 min | 2019
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Condemn the SC’s denial of relief & stand in solidarity with all voices for peoples’ rights!

Condemn the SC’s denial of relief & stand in solidarity with all voices for peoples’ rights!

CASR posters, 2018

By Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)

The Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) calls on all democratic organisations and individuals to come together and condemn the denial of relief for Prof. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, stand in solidarity with all such voices of democracy and demand the immediate release of all political prisoners. Our unity at this time of crisis is all the more urgent and necessary for our silence in the time of injustice is bound to render us voiceless in the days to come. Let us unite and demand:
1. Immediate reprieve from arrest of Prof. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha.
2. Immediate release of all political prisoners lodged in jails all over the country, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Immediate release of all under-trial prisoners and persons convicted on minor charges to decongest prisons.
4. Action (with restraint in light of COVID-19) against the perpetrators of violence in the Bhima Koregaon case including Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote.
5. Repeal of all draconian laws like UAPA, NSA and PSA, among others.
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UK Organisations condemn imminent arrest & demand release of all political rights activists

UK Organisations condemn imminent arrest & demand release of all political rights activists

aisa solidarity posters

Documented by Countercurrents

The police in the State of Maharashtra, India, acting at the behest of the central BJP Hindutva government, is forcing the arrest of Professor Dr Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha under August 2018 fabricated charges, accusing them of involvement in violence that occurred at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. …
To redeem the situation Indian government and the judiciary must:
– Grant bail to Dr Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha
– Immediately release all falsely implicated in the Bhima Koregaon case
– Release all Political Prisoners
– Repeal UAPA, NSA, AFSA and all other draconian laws
Read full statement

Koel Sen Pleads For Her Mother’s Release From Jail During A Pandemic

Koel Sen Pleads For Her Mother’s Release From Jail During A Pandemic

Amnesty International India / by Koel Sen

The last time I met my mother – Professor Shoma Sen, was on 29 February 2020 at the Byculla District Jail in Mumbai for 15 minutes. All meetings at the jail have been cancelled in the wake of the nation-wide lockdown announced from 25 March 2020. On Sunday, 5 April 2020, many heeded the Prime Minister’s call to light candles and show solidarity against the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, some of us, families of the Bhima Koregaon arrestees, remained in the dark about the future of our loved ones.
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SC Grants One More Week To Navlakha & Teltumbde To Surrender [read order]

SC Grants One More Week To Navlakha & Teltumbde To Surrender [read order]

Live Law / by Sanya Talwar

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved orders on the applications filed by activists Gautam Navlakha & Anand Teltumbde for extension of interim from arrest in the case registered under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) alleging Maoist links in connection with Bhima Koregaon violence.
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Scholars’ cry for bail to Anand Teltumbde

Scholars’ cry for bail to Anand Teltumbde

The Tehlegraph / by Special Correspondent

The case comes up for hearing on Tuesday.
A pan-India rights group for education and Ambedkarite scholars from across the world on Monday urged the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision to deny anticipatory bail to Anand Teltumbde, an academic accused of involvement with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence in Pune.
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ACTIVISTS CONDEMN IMPENDING ARREST OF ANAND TELTUMBDE, WANT ‘ILL-CONCEIVED CASE’ DROPPED

07/04/2020

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

New Delhi: Members of the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE) on Monday called the charges against academic Anand Teltumbde in the Bhima Koregaon violence case “vague and based on no concrete evidence”, criticising the Supreme Court’s decision to deny him anticipatory bail.
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