Maya – Page 8 – free them all

Vira Sathidar’s Life Was a Lesson in Political Commitment and Solidarity

14/04/2021 Maya

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Nothing perturbed Vira Sathidar, not even the constant harassment by the NIA or the local Nagpur police.
On October 21 last year, when I finally could access one of the countless rounds of supplementary chargesheets in the Elgar Parishad case, I had immediately called Vira Sathidar. His name was among the list of many “Urban Naxals” named in the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). It was not surprising, but concerning, nevertheless. No “crime” was attributed to Vira Sathidar, but he was named several times. “Asta tey tasa (It is usually like that in these cases),” he told me in his signature Nagpuri drawl. Nothing perturbed Vira Sathidar, not even the constant harrowing by the NIA or the local Nagpur police. He was used to police raids and their persistent harassments.
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Al report slams India / Excerpts: US State Dept Report Records Increasing Use of UAPA in India

08/04/2021 Maya

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Amnesty International report slams India

08/04/2021

Pakobserver / by News Desk

The London-based rights watchdog, Amnesty International has slammed India for its clampdown on civil liberties in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir as well as punitive lockdown in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, use of force against the anti-CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act) protests, farmers’ protests and handling of Delhi riots.
… On arbitrary arrests and detentions, the Amnesty International said that seven human rights activists – Father Stan Swamy, Jyoti Raghoba Jagtap, Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Hany Babu, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde – were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their alleged involvement in violence during the Bhima Koregaon celebrations near the city of Pune in 2018.
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Full report: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2020/21: THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS (April 2021)

Excerpts: US State Dept Report Records Increasing Use of UAPA by Indian Government

05/04/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The report cites the conditions in which the incarcerations of a pregnant Safoora Zargar, and ageing activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj and Stan Swamy progressed.
The US state department released the 2020 human rights report last week, accompanied by renewed rhetoric of putting emphasis on human rights at the heart of American diplomacy.
From the India chapter, here are excerpts from the report on the use of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) from its section on ‘Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees’.
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Why isn’t the government looking for the source of ‘Modi assassination’ malware on Wilson’s PC?

03/04/2021 Maya

Scroll.in / by N Venugopal

It wants to trace the originator of unlawful messages on apps like WhatsApp, but isn’t doing the same in the Bhima Koregaon case.
On February 25, the Union government notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Unlike the IT Rules of 2011, the new regulations include video streaming platforms and online news portals within their ambit.
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Laws Around Electronic Evidence Compromise India’s Criminal Justice System

02/04/2021 Maya

article14 / by Mani Chander

Police and investigative agencies currently claim unfettered access to your WhatsApp, private emails or chats with your doctor, lawyer or psychologist. Can they force you to unlock your phone and disclose passwords? In the absence of clear laws, they do what they wish.
…
Seize All You Can? The Bhima-Koregaon Case
Recent cases indicate that investigating agencies often search and seize records without demonstrating probable cause, necessity or proportionality.
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In prison, waiting is a habit turning slowly into addiction: Varavara Rao’s older prison diaries

31/03/2021 Maya

Scroll.in / by Varavara Rao

An excerpt from Varavara Rao’s ‘Captive Imagination: Letters from Prison’, published in 2010.

A day without toil
A night without love
A waiting on the shores of history…

Of the four days of life for which we have begged, two are lost in hope and the rest in waiting, said Bahadur Shah Zafar. In life outside, there is action to separate the hope from the waiting. Action could, of course, lead you to more hope and more waiting. But, lost in activity, time seems to slip through your fingers, your toes, from before your very eyes. Life in prison is not like that.
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Also read: FRAME UP OF INDIAN POLITICAL PRISONERS REVEALED – New Edition of COLORS OF THE CAGE by Rao’s co-accused human rights activist Arun Ferreira (Feb 2021)

Video: Bhima Koregaon accused continue to wait for bail

30/03/2021 Maya

InOldNews / by InOldNews

Vira Sathidar, a poet, writer, activist, and also one of the editors of a radical Anti-Caste Marathi Magazine ‘Vidrohi’ talks about incarceration of Sudhir Dhawale, founder of Vidrohi. Sudhir Dhawale along with two other activists- Surendra Gadhling and Prof. Shoma Sen were arrested by Police from Nagpur and are still in jail. These were among the first few arrests of Human rights activists by Modi Government under charges of being involved in Bhima Koregaon Violence and in a plot to assassinate PM Modi. The magazine stopped its publication due to various reasons, one being the constant threat of police surveillance.
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The Targeted Silencing of Thinker, Student, Reporter / Criminalisation of Anti-Cast Research

28/03/2021 Maya

The Targeted Silencing of the Trinity of Thinker, Student, Reporter

28/03/2021

The Wire / by Pamela Philipose

Academia and journalism are intertwined. Both create and question knowledge, both demand a critical engagement with society, and both have a distinct interface with the public.
What is more, journalism and academia routinely draw from – and contribute – to the other. In a conversation carried by The Wire (‘Watch | The State of India’s Academic Freedom’, March 25), reference was made to the elements that constitute academic freedom…
Courageous individuals who stood up and spoke out felt the full force of a vengeful state machinery. If we are to consider the Bhima Koregaon arrests, four of the 16 people put behind bars were formally attached to universities. Anand Teltumbe, a former IIT professor, was a management professor at the Goa Institute of Management; Shoma Sen, the head of the English Literature department, Nagpur University; Sudha Bharadwaj, was visiting professor at the National Law School, Delhi; Hany Babu, was professor of language and linguistics at Delhi University.
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Criminalisation of Anti-Cast Research

27/02/2021

By International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India (InSAF)

27 March
8pm IST
Register here: http://shorturl.at/hzHM5

Anti-caste academic research and activism in India are increasingly threatened with criminalisation and surveillance from the state: from the arrests of academics and students to the militarisation of campuses, from the banning of books, plays and film screenings to the censorship of activities deemed as detrimental to the reputation of the government. The persecution of academic-activists in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon violence is a case in point. …

Supreme Court Reserves Order On Gautam Navlakha’s Plea For Default Bail

26/03/2021 Maya

Supreme Court Reserves Order On Gautam Navlakha’s Plea For Default Bail

26/03/2021

Live Law / by Livelaw News Network

The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a plea filed by senior journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha, against an order of the Bombay High Court denying him default bail in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The Bench comprising of Justice UU Lalit and Justice KM Joseph said that it will release the order after 7th April, as Justice Joseph is not available until then.
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Supreme Court To Hear Gautam Navlakha’s Plea For Default Bail As First Item Tomorrow

25/03/2021

Live Law / by Mehal Jain

On the request of the National Investigation Agency, the Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing on Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea to 10:30 a.m. on Friday as the first item on the board.
Appearing before a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit, ASG SV Raju advanced,
“I am seeking only one day’s accommodation. It is not a regular bail application. If it was regular bail, I would understand. It is a default bail application on some hyper technical grounds…”
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Supreme Court To Hear Gautam Navlakha’s Plea On March 22

15/03/2021

Live Law / by Livelaw News Network

Whether Period Of Unlawful Custody Should Be Considered For Default Bail?
The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will hear on March 22 the petition filed by activist Gautam Navlakha challengingthe Bombay High Court judgment which rejected his plea that he should be granted default bail by computing his 34-day period of house arrest in 2018.
A division bench comprising Justices UU Lalit and KM Joseph adjourned the hearing on Monday at the request of the National Investigation Agency for filing a counter affidavit to Navlakha’s plea.
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Stan Swamy’s bail plea order reserved, court to pronounce verdict on March 22

17/03/2021 Maya

Stan Swamy’s bail plea order reserved, court to pronounce verdict on March 22

17/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Swamy’s bail plea was deferred on March 11 after the NIA filed an application to place on record additional documents in the case.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday reserved the order on the bail plea of activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, reported Bar & Bench. The special National Investigation Agency court will pronounce its verdict on March 22.
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NIA court to pass order on Stan Swamy bail on March 22

16/03/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday said it would pass an order on Father Stan Swamy’s bail in the Bhima Koregaon violence case on March 22.
Fr Swamy, 83, a Jesuit priest and activist, has been working with tribals for decades and is currently lodged at the Taloja Central Jail after being arrested from Ranchi on October 9, 2020.
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by Bar & Bench (March 16):
+++ Special NIA Court will pronounce its verdict in the bail application filed by #ElgarParishadcase accused Stan Swamy on March 22, 2021+++
+++ In the previous hearing, NIA had filed an application to place on record additional documents to be considered before the bail application is decided +++
+++ The Special Court allowed the application which was essentially to invite the Court’s attention to the case diary of the investigation. Swamy’s lawyers opposed the application stating that once chargesheet was filed then case diary cannot be considered +++
+++ After hearing both sides, the Court has closed the bail application for orders +++

Stan Swamy’s bail plea deferred by Mumbai court, next hearing on March 15

11/03/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The NIA has filed some additional documents in the case and Swamy’s lawyer sought time to respond to them.
The bail plea of activist and Jesuit priest Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, was deferred by a special court in Mumbai on Thursday, reported PTI.
The court, which was likely to pass the order on Thursday, deferred it after the National Investigation Agency filed some additional documents in the case and Swamy’s lawyer sought time to respond to them. The matter will now be heard on March 15, reported The Indian Express.
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Fr Stan Swamy’s bail plea order to be given on Mar 11

27/02/2021

The Times of India / by TNN

A special NIA court is likely to pronounce an order on the bail plea of Jesuit priest and tribal right rights activist, Fr Stan Swamy, arrested in in Elgar Parishad case on March 11.
NIA had opposed his bail plea and submitted that there was sufficient evidence against the 83-year-old, and the offence was grave.
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NIA court order on Stan Swamy’s bail plea on March 2

24/02/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Stan Swamy sought bail on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish how he had taken part or committed or incited the commission of any unlawful activity.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court will pass its order on Father Stan Swamy’s petition for bail in the Bhima Koregaon violence case on March 2.
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Special Court set March 2 to announce the result of Stan Swamy’s bail application

19/02/2021

UCA News / by UCA News reporter

Suspicions are growing that the sick priest’s bail is being delayed for political reasons.
A special court is set to pronounce its verdict on the bail application of an elderly Indian Jesuit activist five months after his arrest and detention on charges of sedition.
The special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the federal anti-terror agency, has set March 2 to announce the result of the bail application of 84-year-old Father Stan Swamy.
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Opposing Anand Teltumbde’s bail, NIA cites electronic evidence seized from Rona Wilson

10/03/2021 Maya

Opposing Teltumbde’s bail, NIA cites electronic evidence seized from Rona Wilson

10/03/2021

Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in its reply filed recently objecting to the bail application filed by professor and activist Anand Teltumbde, has cited electronic evidence seized from the co-accused Rona Wilson.
This assumes significance in the backdrop of a report of US-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting which stated in its report based on analysis that the incriminating evidence found on Wilson’s computer was ‘planted’ through a cyber attack.
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Anand Teltumbde was active member of banned CPI (Maoist), furthered their agenda: NIA to Special Court

10/03/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The NIA opposed Teltumbde’s bail application claiming that Teltumbde guided his younger brother Milind to expand ‘urban naxal movements of Maoism’.
Anand Teltumbde, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, was an active member of banned political organisation, Communist Party of India (Maoist), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the special court, opposing his bail application (National Investigation Agency v. Anand Teltumbde).
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NIA opposes Anand Teltumbde’s bail plea

09/03/2021

The Times of India / by Swati Deshpande

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), while opposing a bail plea by Elgar Parishad accused Anand Teltumbde, has claimed that he “was in touch with wanted accused Milind Teltumbde and had a secret meeting with him”.
Milind is his brother who, the NIA said, had inspired to join and expand the Maoist movement.
The bail plea will be heard on March 11.
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Anand Teltumbde Helped Brother To Expand Maoist Movements, NIA Alleges

09/03/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The National Investigating Agency has said that former IIT professor and academic, Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad case, inspired his brother, a wanted Maoist leader, to join the movement and shared “banned literature” from his international conferences with him.
Even though the two brothers have led entirely separate lives, Teltumbde as a professor at IIT-Kharagpur and later at the Goa Institute of Management, and Milind as an alleged Maoist leader carrying a bounty of Rs 50 lakh, the agency has said that Milind used literature from Teltumbde’s conferences to expand the banned organisations movements in urban areas.
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