Maya – Page 10 – free them all

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea against NIA to withdraw ‘defamatory’ remarks rejected

13/02/2021 Maya

Poster, Aug 2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Bharadwaj had filed a plea in December, seeking access to unredacted copies of statements of witnesses recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The NIA, in its reply, had opposed the plea and alleged that access to statements was sought to cause harm to the witnesses.
A special court on Friday rejected an application by law professor and activist Sudha Bharadwaj that sought directions to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to withdraw “defamatory” allegations made against her in a written reply filed by the agency.
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United States: Ask President Biden and Secretary Blinken to Demand Fr. Stan’s Release

09/02/2021 Maya

Jesuits.org / by Society of Jesus

For four months, Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ has been wrongly imprisoned in India. Multiple efforts to secure his release have been denied by the courts, even though he is 83 years old and suffers from Parkinson’s disease…
Join us in urging the United States to: condemn the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy, ask the Indian Government to release him immediately, and ask the Indian Government to stop arbitrary arrests of innocent citizens.
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Process Has Become Punishment In Case Of Varavara Rao: Anand Grover (video)

04/02/2021 Maya

en | 15:50min | 2021

The Logiacl Indian / by Navya Singh

81-year-old poet, activist Varavara Rao has spent 149 out of 365 days in the hospital. The activist’s lawyers and family have urged that he should be granted bail on medical grounds as his health condition continues to deteriorate.
The Logical Indian’s Navya Singh spoke to Senior Lawyer Anand Grover who represents Varavara Rao in the case to get more details.
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NIA arrested 16, chargesheeted 21 in Bhima Koregaon case: MHA

02/02/2021 Maya

Oneindia News / by Shreya

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has so far arrested 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and filed charge sheet against 21 accused, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy also said that the central government has taken note of the press release issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on October 20 last year on the restrictions on human right NGOs and arrests of activists in India, and has responded to it appropriately.
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Video: Keeping Hope, An Everyday Challenge: Imprisoned Activist Gautam Navlakha´s Partner

26/01/2021 Maya

en | 20:10min | 2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

An accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, Navlakha is a civil liberties, democratic, human rights activist, and journalist. He has been charged with the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which many human rights activists across the world say is a tool used by the government to silence dissent. In this video, we speak to Navlakha’s partner, Sahba Hussain, and try to get some insight into his life – public as well as private.
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Book release: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism [PDF copy]

24/01/2021 Maya

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

24/01/2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties

Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Please download and share widely!
#RepealUAPA

Video – Book Release: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?

24/01/2021

en + hindi | 2h 53min | 2021

By People’s Union for Civil Liberties and more than 100 other organizations

Topic: Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj?
Sudha Bharadwaj, a renowned human rights lawyer, trade unionist, is one of 16 activists incarcerated in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case for more than 2 years. A long interview conducted with Sudha over several days before she was arrested is now being published as an online book “Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism”, and will be released at this webinar by the well-known writer, Nayantara Sahgal. Sudha’s daughter, Maaysha, her lawyer Yug Chaudhary, social activist Harsh Mandar, historian Uma Chakravarti amongst other coworkers & colleagues, will also share their experiences and memories of working with her.
Watch video @ PUCL Facebook (videos)

Programme – click to enlarge

UN Human Rights Office Urges Release of Bhima Koregaon Activists

24/01/2021 Maya

The Wire / by Ravi Kanth Devarakonda

Without naming 80-year-old poet Varavara Rao and 83-year old tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, it noted that “some of the detainees are elderly and in poor health”.
The UN Human Rights office has expressed serious concern about the detention of human rights defenders in India, including those arrested in the controversial Bhima Koregaon case, and has urged the Indian authorities to release the detainees “at the very least on bail while they await trial”.
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Videos: Persecution by Prosecution – PUCL and 100 Organisations demand: Repeal UAPA / Session Reports

22/01/2021 Maya

en | 2h 17min | 2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

PUCL India and over hundred organisations present:

Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution

Also watch:
► Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj? (en + hindi | 2h 53min | Jan 2021)
► 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy (en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021)

Session Report: Under UAPA, anything can be an offence based on flimsy evidence

22/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Megha Katheria

Bringing together lawyers, activists, and victims of UAPA, the second day of PUCL’s national consultation on repealing UAPA was packed with heart-wrenching stories of abuse and torture by the law. This underpinned the passionate launch of the campaign to repeal UAPA by PUCL and 100 other organisations. It is similar to the cohesive action by human rights organisations against TADA in 1990s and POTA in the early 2000s.
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Session Report: PUCL and 100 Organisations demand the repeal of the UAPA

21/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Parvathi Sjiv

In a session packed with human stories of abuse and misuse of law where activists and commoners were abused, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) began a three-day session on January 20th with over 100 other organisations comprising advocates, activists and others who spoke about the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Guilty by association – A profile of Hany Babu

18/01/2021 Maya

Solidarity poster, Aug 28, 2020

The Polis Project / by The Polis Project and maraa

… Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, 54, is an associate professor of Linguistics in Delhi University (DU). He is also a linguist, an anti-caste scholar, and a social activist. His work as an activist has been largely related to the pro-reservation movement in Indian universities. He is the coordinator of the Alliance of Social Justice, a member of the Joint Action Front for Democratic Education and, until his arrest, he was leading the Defense Committee for GN Saibaba, a professor convicted for alleged links with the Maoist movement.
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Fr Stan’s arrest figures in UK Parliament: Govt says, Indian authorities were “alerted”

18/01/2021 Maya

Counterview / by Rajiv Shah

Will Father Stan Swamy’s arrest, especially the fact that he is a Christian and a priest, turn out to be major international embarrassment for the Government of India? It may well happen, if a recent debate on a resolution titled “India: Persecution of Minority Groups” in the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament is any indication. While Jesuits have protested Fr Stan’s arrest in UK and US, the resolution, adopted in the Parliament, said, “This House has considered the matter of persecution of Muslims, Christians and minority groups in India”.
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