January 2023 – free them all

Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Surendra Gadling [read judgment]

31/01/2023 Asha

Reasonable ground to believe Surendra Gadling a member of banned CPI (Maoist): Bombay High Court [Read Judgment]

31/01/2023

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Court made the prima facie observation while rejecting Gadling’s bail plea in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
Allegations that lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling had direct membership of the banned organisation, Communist Party of India (Maoist) seem to be prima facie true, the Bombay High Court observed on Tuesday [Surendra Gadling v. State of Maharashtra].
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes made the observation while rejecting a bail plea moved by Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
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Read judgment

Surajgarh arson case: Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Surendra Gadling

31/01/2023

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Gadling is presently in judicial custody in Taloja Central Prison and is also an accused in the 2018 riots case of Bhima Koregaon.
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court today rejected the bail plea of lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and VA Menezes pronounced the order today.
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HC upholds denial of bail to Nagpur lawyer Surendra Gadling

01/02/2023

Nagpur Today / by Nagpur Today

Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court have dismissed the appeal filed by the Nagpur lawyer, Surendra Gadling (55), against rejection of his application for regular bail by the Sessions court, Gadchiroli, with observation that the court prima facie believes the NIA´s accusations that appellant was part of a conspiracy and abetting the terrorist acts.
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Also read:
● Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet | July 2021)
● DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA | June 2018)
● Mining In Gadchiroli – Building A Castle Of Injustices (Countercurrents | by Neema Pathak Broome and Mahesh Raut | June 2017)

How the Politics of Hate Unites South Asia

29/01/2023 Asha

The Wire / by Farahnaz Ispahani

Not just Indian, but Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka too appear to be well within an era of media incitement, orchestrated attacks on minority religious institutions, and identity politics.
The volume Politics Of Hate: Religious Majoritarianism in South Asia presents the research of noted scholars on the role of the media and political leaders in deploying hatred for political advantage.
… In July 2021, jailed tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy died in a prison in Mumbai, at the age of eighty-four. A Jesuit priest, who suffered from Parkinson’s disease, was arrested in October 2020 after being accused of terrorism along with sixteen other activists, academics and lawyers. Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, had referred to this detention as ‘inexcusable’.
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Drive to seek justice for Stan Swamy

29/01/2023 Asha

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

We will be starting campaigns from February in almost all those cities of Jharkhand where Father had been active, says CPI leader
Members of Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyay Morcha (formed in 2021 to carry forward the legacy of the deceased Jesuit priest) will launch a signature campaign across major cities of Jharkhand in February, demanding a probe and action against federal agencies responsible for planting documents in Father Stan Swamy’s computers.
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Also read:
● Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 13, 2022)
● I am not a silent spectator – An autobiographical fragment, memory and reflection (Indian Social Institute | By Stan Swamy | 2021)

Publisher: Indian Social Institute
First published in 2021
140 pages
Download pdf

AI: India/Egypt: Ongoing human rights crisis in both countries must be addressed

26/01/2023 Asha

India/ Egypt: Ongoing human rights crisis in both countries must be addressed

26/01/2023

By Amnesty International

The Indian and Egyptian authorities must address the ongoing human rights and impunity crises in the two countries, Amnesty International said today, as India hosts Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the chief guest at its Republic Day celebrations.
… In India, 16 Bhima Koregaon activists have been arrested since 2018 on fabricated charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a draconian anti-terror law. They have also faced an intense crackdown by the authorities for their work for marginalized communities.
Read more

Also read:
● Act now to demand the release of the BK16! (Amnesty International, Dec 2022)

Officer who probed Elgaar Parishad questioned on FIR against Bhide, Ekbote / The strange deposition of Pawar

24/01/2023 Asha

Graphic by Arun Ferreira & Vernon Gonsalves

Officer who probed Elgaar Parishad questioned on FIR against Bhide, Ekbote

24/01/2023

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission, headed by retired judge Justice J N Patel, is probing the causes of violence in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, in which one person was killed and several others were left injured.
Police officer Shivaji Pawar, who had investigated the Elgaar Parishad case, was on Monday cross examined by the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, by senior lawyer B A Desai, representing Harshali Potdar, an accused in the same case.
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The Strange Deposition Of Shivaji Pawar

24/01/2023

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Shivaji Pawar made a startling revelation: Though the subject matter of his investigation was the January 1 violence, he had not examined any of the witnesses to that violence.
“I am not aware of the complaint filed by Mrs Anita Sawale.”
This was the statement of Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Pawar, the officer in charge of the Elgar Parishad case in which 16 intellectuals stand charged under UAPA, with most of them having spent almost five years behind bars.
Read more

Also Read:
● Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 27, 2022)
● “Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote instigated the Bhima Koregaon Violence,” an accused deposes as witness before Inquiry Commission (LawBeat / Oct 2021)
● Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan / Dec 2020)
● Saffron Conspiracy in Bhima Koregaon? – Fact finding report by Rashtra Seva Dal unearths insidious scheme to target Dalits (CJP / Jan 2018)

India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?

24/01/2023 Asha

The UAPA Law – Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Dissent?

24/01/2023

By Hindus for Human Rights

(DESH-VIDESH CONVERSATION SERIES – SPEAKING ACROSS THE DIVIDE)
Digital Evidence Planting: New Age Threat to Rights Defenders
Presented by Safa Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council on behalf of a broad coalition working to secure the release of all the Bhima Koregaon prisoners

WHY ARE MOST OF THE BHIMA KOREGAON DEFENDANTS STILL IN JAIL DESPITE FORENSIC FINDINGS THAT INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE HAD BEEN PLANTED ON SOME OF THEIR COMPUTERS?

Good evening. Digital forensics is a dry, technical field, but the consequences of digital attacks play out like a vivid, terrifying, and painful movie. With the help of technical experts, journalists, and activists, I have prepared for you this narrative of what was revealed in the forensic analysis of the hard drives of three of the BK-16 – Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, and Father Stan Swamy.
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Invite: India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?

20/01/2023

By Hindus for Human Rights / @Hindus4HR

The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and India’s Prisoners of Conscience (POCs): Targeting terrorism or stifling democratic dissent?
Saturday, January 21, 2023
6 pm PST,
7:30 am IST
The conversation will cover the history and the draconian provisions of the UAPA; how it compares to anti-terror laws in other democracies; the views of the State Department and USCIRF; what are some of the typical charges being made being under UAPA. Do they look unlawful to you? Some statistics: How many people arrested since the amended UAPA; Average time spent w/o trial or bail hearing; How many have gone to trial, etc.

Moderator: Govind Acharya, Amnesty International
Panelists:
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Activist, on Umar Khalid’s story and struggle
Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Author and Criminal Lawyer, on legal strategies on behalf of POCs and hurdles faced
Mihir Desai, Human Rights Lawyer, on the story and struggle of Bhima Koregaon 16 and what’s happening to lesser known detainees
Followed by a Q&A moderated by Govind Acharya
Register here