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‘Don’t jail Teltumbde and Navlakha amid Covid-19 crisis,’ global scholars urge India

‘Don’t jail Teltumbde and Navlakha amid Covid-19 crisis,’ global scholars urge India

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The two civil rights activists are expecting to be arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case by April 6 following a Supreme Court order last month.
More than 15 social rights organisation and over 5,000 individuals across the world have signed a statement in solidarity with activists Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, urging the Centre to delay their arrest in the Bhima Koregaon violence case in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Sign statement: Global Solidarity Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

2-Min Phone Calls To Family For Jailed Bhima Koregaon Activists

2-Min Phone Calls To Family For Jailed Bhima Koregaon Activists

Huffpost / by Piyasree Dasgupta

The national lockdown enforced due to the coronavirus outbreak has prevented the families from meeting the imprisoned activists.
A couple of weeks ago, Koel Sen received a call from a constable at the Byculla Jail in Mumbai, informing her that the facility to meet prisoners would be suspended soon, in view of the coronavirus outbreak in India.
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Court rejects bail pleas of Shoma Sen and Varavara Rao

Court rejects bail pleas of Shoma Sen and Varavara Rao

Drawing bei Arun Ferreira

The Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil

A special court on Tuesday rejected the temporary bail pleas filed by civil activists Shoma Sen and Varavara Rao – accused in the Elgar Parishad case, on the grounds of the coronavirus pandemic.
Special NIA judge RR Bhosale observed while rejecting the bail pleas that the charges against the accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are serious and the UAPA was not covered under the government notification for release of prisoners.
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Varavara Rao, Shoma Sen file for bail on medical grounds citing coronavirus outbreak

Varavara Rao, Shoma Sen file for bail on medical grounds citing coronavirus outbreak

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Others seek directions to jail authorities for permission to talk on phone since prison visits are stopped.
Citing the spread of coronavirus, poet P Varavara Rao and retired professor Shoma Sen, among the nine persons accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, have sought temporary bail on medical grounds from a special court. The court Monday heard the arguments on their bail pleas. An order in the matter is likely to be passed Tuesday.
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ACTIVISTS SAY THEY ARE VULNERABLE TO COVID-19

31/03/2020

Mumbai Mirror / by David Delima

While Varavara Rao says he has respiratory problems, Shoma Sen says she has high blood pressure; a special court to pass order today … Activist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj, who has been in jail since August 2018, had also filed an application for bail, but the National Investigation Agency stated it had not received a copy of her application.
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Release Those Charged Under Serious Offences – 130 Lawyers Make Recommendations [Read Letter]

Release Those Charged Under Serious Offences – 130 Lawyers Make Recommendations [Read Letter]

livelaw.in / by Nitish Kashyap

A total of 130 lawyers have written to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, State Home Minister and Chief Justice of Bombay High Court expressing grave concern regarding the safety of “thousands of individuals incarcerated in prisons and other settings of detention such as observation homes, special homes, children homes, detention centers, borstal homes, etc” in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
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MHARASHTRA PRISONERS RELEASED SAYS JAIL UNPREPARED TO HANDLE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

31/01/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

No transport has been arranged for those who are released, while inmates still in prison fear for their health.
Mumbai: Even as the Maharashtra state government has slowly begun releasing incarcerated persons on parole and interim bail as a safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, fear and desperation has gripped those languishing in the jail.
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Activists seek bail for political prisoners

Activists seek bail for political prisoners

The Hindu / by Staff Reporter

“COVID-19 outbreak an occasion to look at overcrowded prisons in country.”
A group of activists and intellectuals has sought bail or parole for political prisoners lodged in various jails.

In a letter to the Central and State governments, eminent persons such as writers Arundhati Roy, K. Satchidanandan and Meena Kandasamy, journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar and academics Dilip Menon and Benjamin Zachariah pointed out that the COVID-19 outbreak was also an occasion to look at the overcrowded prisons in the country.
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INTELLECTUALS APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF PRISONERS

30/03/2020

Kashimr Times / by KT News Service

New Delhi: About two dozen intellectuals, writers and academics of the country have made an urgent appeal to the government to ease the over-crowded prisons in view of the outbreak of Covid19 and also in keeping with the recent Supreme Court directive. They have sought release on bail or parole of at least some of the prisoners including political detenues from across the country.
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ACADEMICS SEND OPEN LETTER SEEKING BAIL FOR VARAVARA RAO, SUDHA BHARADWAJ

31/03/2020

The New Indian Express / by Prajanma Das

The Supreme Court has already directed the state governments to consider granting bail to remand prisoners, accused of committing crimes punishable with a maximum of seven years imprisonment.
Former Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba, Poet Varavara Rao, Dr Shoma Sen, Sudha Bharadwaj and several others including Padma and Veeramony in Tamil Nadu are in prison — either awaiting trial or are political prisoners of the state.
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An open letter by Anand Teltumbde’s daughters

An open letter by Anand Teltumbde’s daughters

The Caravan / by Prachi and Rashmi Teltumbde

“As we look into our parents’ eyes, we see only pain”

… On 16 March, our father’s fate for the next few years was decided by the Supreme Court of India. The state lays in wait to incarcerate him on 6 April—a fact that we never imagined we would be speaking or writing about.
Since we heard the verdict, it feels like life has come to a halt, even as each day whizzes by in a deluge of calls and visits from well-wishers offering their sympathies and support. Sleepless nights and tired eyes have become routine occurrences.
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Anand Teltumbde: “Plot to kill PM” was a deliberate ploy to sensationalise the case

Anand Teltumbde: “Plot to kill PM” was a deliberate ploy to sensationalise the case

Asiavillennews.com / by Amit Bhardwaj

Teltumbde, accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case under the UAPA, claims that the entire case against him is fabricated. On March 16, the SC gave him three weeks to surrender. In conversation with Asiaville, the noted scholar said that the Bhima-Koregaon arrests are a deliberate attempt to trap noted civil rights activists opposed to the BJP’s ideology.
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CJI Urged to Change SC Orders on Teltumbde, Navlakha Amid COVID-19

CJI Urged to Change SC Orders on Teltumbde, Navlakha Amid COVID-19


Solidarity banner by AISA

The Quint / by The Quint

… Teltumbde and Navlakha are among those academics, activists, and lawyers who have been accused of involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence, and being Maoists.
Others who have been accused and arrested for this under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) include Sudha Bhardwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudhir Dhawale, Barbara Rao and Surendra Gadling.
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Sign Global Solidarity Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

Sign Global Solidarity Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

By India Civil Watch

Signatories include eminent public figures such as Noam Chomsky, Gayatri Spivak, Sukhadeo Thorat, Cornel West, Angela Davis, Kshama Sawant, Ramachandra Guha, Prakash Ambedkar and Arundhati Roy.
Sign statement here

Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha:
We, the undersigned (organizations and individuals) protest the impending arrest of Professor Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha and strongly condemn the attempt to malign their status as two of India’s foremost civil rights activists and public intellectuals today.

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