Asha – free them all

Accused In Custody For 5 Years: Supreme Court Points Out To NIA While Hearing Bail Applications

06/02/2023 Asha

‘Accused In Custody For 5 Years’: Supreme Court Points Out To NIA While Hearing Bail Applications

06/02/2023

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The Supreme Court, on Monday, at the request of National Investigation Agency (NIA), directed the hearing of the bail applications of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case, to be deferred to a Non-Miscellaneous day (Wednesday).
A Bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing the bail applications of Gonsalves and a co-accused, Ferreira, who were arrested for alleged links with the 2018 caste-based violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune, as well as with far-left militants.
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Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira at the request of NIA

06/02/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

The matter is posted to be heard on February 8.
On Monday, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, at the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), adjourned the hearing of the bail pleas of trade unionist, activist and academic Vernon Gonsalves, and activist and lawyer Arun Ferreira. Gonsalves and Ferreira have filed bail applications in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Bombay High Court dated October 15, 2019 rejecting their bail pleas.
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Thread by Bar & Bench (Feb 6):
++ #SupremeCourt is hearing bail applications of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case
Adv Kanu Agarwal: 2 bails in UAPA case. ASG is in another court It will take sometime. We have filed the counter affidavits. ++
++ SC: Somebody is in custody for 5 years. What harm will be caused if he is released on bail with conditions? What is there in counter affidavit ? We have read it
Adv Agarwal: delay in trial cannot be attributed to NIA. There are serious charges of membership etc ++
++ Sr Adv Rebecca John: trial was also underwent for 5 years.. material pertaining to this case is the same in other cases where I was acquitted..
SC: This may make your case a little different
SC: List on Next Wednesday for hearing ++

Also read:
● Vernon Gonsalves cites Arsenal report to seek discharge (Free Press Journal / Jan 5, 2023)
● Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)
● Bombay High Court rejects default bail plea of Varavara Rao and seven other accused (The Leaflet / May 2022)
● HC disposes plea of eight accused seeking rectification in order denying them bail (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)

Maharashtra: Top Cop Accuses Decades-Old Cultural, Rights Orgs of Working as ‘Naxal Fronts’

02/02/2023 Asha

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

At the recent police conference attended by PM Modi, Gadchiroli DIGP Sandip B. Patil claimed in a paper that 15 cultural and rights organisations are actually “active frontal organisations of Naxals.” Behind this claim is little evidence.
In 2017, the artiste couple Shital Sathe and Sachin Mali publicly announced their decision to split from the cultural outfit, Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) after 15 years of association.
Read more

Also read:
● UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022)
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)
● The Security Playbook Used To Erode Democracy In Modi’s India & How The Tide Might Turn (article 14 / March 2022)
● Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
● From ‘tukde tukde gang’ to ‘urban Naxal’: How media trials enable the government to stifle dissent (Scroll.in / Sep 2018)

Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing On Bail Plea Of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira

01/02/2023 Asha

Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing On Bail Plea Of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira

01/02/2023

The National Bulletin / by TNB Bureau

The hearing in the Supreme Court has been postponed in the case of bail of accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case. The next hearing of this matter will be on 6 February. The Supreme Court said that further hearing of the case will not be postponed. Earlier on August 18, 2022, the Supreme Court had asked the special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to frame charges against accused Vernon Gonsalves within three months.
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Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Feb 1, 2023):
++ Supreme Court to hear bail pleas of Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Varun Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. ++
++ Report from the last hearing++
++ Matter before bench of Justices MR Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia ++
++ Bench to shortly start hearing the bail plea. ++
++ Letter circulated in the matter. ++
++ Justice Shah – We will keep it on next Monday. No further adjournments. ++

Also read:
● Supreme Court division bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose to hear bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira (The Leaflet / Jan 16, 2023)

Shoma Sen files discharge plea / Targeted for activism, says Shoma Sen seeking clean chit

01/02/2023 Asha

Shoma Sen files discharge plea in court

01/02/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Shoma Sen said in her discharge application that the “incriminating” evidence claimed to have been seized from her deals with information on social movements, all of which can be found in public domain.
… Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday heard the discharge application of activist Vernon Gonsalves. During the arguments, Gonsalves said that the accused in the case had not received some of the cloned copies presented by the NIA as evidence. … The co-accused in the case, lawyers Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira, informed the court that they had previously too sought cloned copies but have not received all.
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Targeted for activism, says Shoma Sen seeking clean chit

01/02/2023

The Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

Professor Shoma Sen, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, on Tuesday filed a plea for getting a clean chit in the case. She claimed she has been falsely implicated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for her active role in the sphere of activism for human rights, Dalits and the marginalised sections of society.
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Also read:
● Bombay HC asks Elgar Parishad accused Prof Shoma Sen to first approach trial court for bail (India Today / Jan 17, 2023)

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.
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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