Asha – Page 117 – free them all

NIA tells Mumbai HC objectionable material in letters by accused to family published in The Caravan

10/10/2021 Asha

NIA tells Mumbai HC objectionable material in letters by accused to family published in The Caravan

10/10/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

NIA opposed the plea filed before Bombay High Court by wives of Teltumbde and Gonsalves, against the Superintendent of Taloja Prison, accusing him of withholding letters sent to and received from their family members.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the plea filed before Bombay High Court by wives of Bhima Koreagon accused Anand Teltumbde and Vernon Gonsalves, against the Superintendent of Taloja Central Prison, accusing him of withholding letters sent to and received from their family members.
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HC seeks reply on plea by wives of accused seeking probe into ‘restrictions’ on letters

09/10/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Bombay High Court on Friday directed the state prison authority and the NIA to file a reply to the plea by the wives of Elgaar Parishad case accused Anand Teltumbde and Vernon Gonsalves, who are lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai, seeking an inquiry for allegedly restricting the two activists from writing letters to their spouses and lawyers.
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Judicial probe plea on Stan Swamy arrest anniversary / Stan Swamy a Symbol for Justice & Hope

09/10/2021 Asha

Judicial probe plea on Stan Swamy arrest anniversary

09/10/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

Over 150 rights activists staged a dharna for over two hours at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi.
Protests and programmes were organised in Jharkhand, Kerala and Karnataka on Friday to mark the first anniversary of the arrest of octogenarian Jesuit priest and rights defender Father Stan Swamy who passed away in July this year in judicial custody.
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Dharna demands punishment of the perpetrators of Stan Swamy’s murder

By Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (Oct 8)

Oct 8, 2021. Dharna in front of Raj Bhavan in Ranchi

Various mass organizations and left parties demanding:
Punishment of the perpetrators of Stan’s murder!
Release all political prisoners!
Repeal UAPA!

Stan Swamy a Symbol for Justice & Hope

08/10/2021

By Jamsehdpur Jesuits

en | 3:15min | 2021
Fr. Jerry Cutinha, S.J, the Provincial of Jamshedpur Jesuits comes forward in recalling the footsteps of Stan Swamy as a symbol for Justice & Hope.
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by Teesta Setalvad (Oct 8):
LEST WE FORGET: A Day of Crime a Precious Life Lost! this day last yr, the Modi govt arrested Fr #StanSwamy via #UAPA. Never questioned in custody. Died in July, denied bail.

Testimony of Stan Swamy two days before his arrest

Oct 2020

Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha / by Stan Swamy

en | 7:48min | 2020
Watch video

Also read:
Why An Aged Defender Of The Deprived Faces Terror Charges (article 14, Nov 2020)

Jail Authorities Are Blocking Letters From Elgar Parishad Arrested to Their Loved Ones

06/10/2021 Asha

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

After Father Stan Swamy’s death in July, Sudhir Dhawale penned an emotional letter. But Taloja jail authorities decided nobody should read it.
When 84-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy passed away on July 5, one of his co-accused in the Elgar Parishad case, Sudhir Dhawale, penned an emotional poem. Dhawale, a writer and anti-caste activist from Mumbai who is currently jailed at the Taloja central prison, wrote an eight-page poem describing his first meeting with Swamy, their interactions in jail and Swamy’s contribution to the tribal rights movement in Jharkhand. He titled the poem Pathalgadicha Father or the ‘Father of Pathalgadi’.
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Video: Freedom For Varavara Rao

05/10/2021 Asha

en | 1h 5min | 2021

By Irish PEN and Scottish PEN

Join Irish PEN, Scottish PEN, Wales PEN Cymru and guests as we share readings, translations and updates on the case of revolutionary Indian poet, Varavara Rao.
This event was chaired by Professor Ignatius McGovern and featured a rare opportunity to hear from Rao’s nephew, Venugopal Nellutla, who published ‘The Making of Varavara Rao: An Intimate Portrait by a Nephew’ in 2020. The event includes a variety of poetry and prose readings from Áine Ní Ghlinn, Professor Bashabi Fraser, Leela Soma, Ifor ap Glyn, June Considine and Kate Ennals.
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Bhima Koregaon: Outcome of a ‘Larger Conspiracy’?

05/10/2021 Asha

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Testimony presented before the Bhima Korgaon Commission over the last two months reveals the background to the violence that broke out on January 1, 2018.
As the Bhima Koregaon accused continue to struggle for bail, important information about the violence that they are accused of instigating is emerging before the judicial commission that’s investigating the violence.
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Sedition law: an imperial legacy, and a weapon of intimidation and subjugation by the regime

03/10/2021 Asha

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Leaflet / by Tushar Gandhi

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, TUSHAR GANDHI relies on Mahatma Gandhi’s defence during his 1992 sedition trial to make a case for the abrogation of the colonial-era law, as well as similar other laws that are used to stifle citizens’ democratic rights…
The Bhima Koregaon case is another case of blatant intimidation and punishment of dissent, a democratic right of citizens, in which intellectuals have been arrested and charged, and are being prosecuted.
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Also read:
● The Definition of “Terrorist Act” in UAPA Is So Vague That It Is Susceptible To Misuse: Justice Anjana Prakash (Live Law / Jul 26, 2021)
● Seventeen proposed charges by NIA against accused (Bar & Bench / Aug 22, 2021)
● National Call: Defend Right to Dissent, Repeal Sedition Law, UAPA and Repressive State Laws (July 2021)

Mumbai: Release the Bhima Koregaon Prisoners

02/10/2021 Asha

By Dr Meena Kandasamy (Oct 1)
Rama Ambedkar at a gathering in Bombay today demanding release of #BhimaKoregaon prisoners. She spoke on the sudden change in the media narrative of the BK riots in 2018 and the conspiracy that ensued culminating in the arrest of Anand Teltumbde and 15 others.

Switzerland: Petition demands immediate release of political prisoners in India

01/10/2021 Asha

Berne; Oct 1, 2021 (Pic credits: Solifonds)

By SOLIFONDS and the Women’s Rights Group Zurich of Amnesty International Switzerland

Today, Friday 1 October, SOLIFONDS and the Women’s Rights Group Zurich of Amnesty International Switzerland handed over several hundred signatures for a petition for the release of political prisoners (BK16) to the Indian Embassy in Berne, Switzerland. However, no one from the embassy was willing to receive the petition.

Indian trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj has been in prison for over three years – without evidence and without a trial. Sudha Bharadwaj is also known in Switzerland because she struggled for the direct employment of contract workers at the Swiss cement company Holcim in India, as ruled by law. She and 15 other human rights defenders, intellectuals, lawyers and cultural workers were accused of being involved in the violence at Bhima Koregaon and of planning a conspiracy against the government. Forged documents, which forensic investigations revealed had been smuggled into the computers of accused persons by hackers, serve as “evidence”. A trial has not yet taken place.
…

Witness Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots

01/10/2021 Asha

Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots

01/10/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Pune police “took away” research papers and evidence that revealed right-wing extremist leaders Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote instigated and initiated the riots at Bhima Koregaon(BK) in Pune, on January 1, 2018, an anti-caste activist alleged before an inquiry panel, on Wednesday.
Harshali Potdar (33) said she managed to re-collect a chunk of the lost evidence after the Pune police searched her office along with the homes of other activists in April 2018. However, core material against the real culprits of the violence is still unavailable.
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Samabhji Bhide, Milind Ekbote instigated Bhima Koregaon riots: Accused event organiser tells Inquiry Commission

30/09/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The accused in Bhima Koregaon case of 2018, Harshali Potdar, informed the Commission that she apprehended danger to her life for deposing the truth against Bhide and Ekbote in the Commission.
Harshali Potdar, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 for her alleged links with banned organisation CPI -Maoist stated before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry that the violence was instigated by Samabhji Bhide, former RSS worker and Milind Ekbote, former BJP corporator.
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Ekbote instigated Koregaon Bhima violence, Elgaar Parishad organiser tells panel

20/09/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Advocate Ashish Satpute, the lawyer representing the commission, started recording her examination in chief on Wednesday.
Harshali Potdar (33), who was named as an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case over her alleged links with the banned CPI-Maoist, deposed as a witness before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Wednesday.
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Also Read: Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan, Dec 2020)

Teacher, companion, motivator: Adivasi-rights activist Dayamani Barla remembers Stan Swamy

29/09/2021 Asha

The Caravan / Dayamani Barla

To understand the life struggle of Stan Swamy, it is necessary to understand the history and struggle of the Adivasi community in Jharkhand and the country. There is a need to understand the traditional rights that Adivasis have on natural resources such as water, forest, and land. It is only then that we can appreciate what Swamy stood for and fought for.
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