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Petition: Covid-19 is a virtual death sentence for political prisoners! / Covid-19 in Taloja & Byculla jails

Petition: Covid-19 is a virtual death sentence for political prisoners! / Covid-19 in Taloja & Byculla jails

Petition: Covid-19 is a virtual death sentence for political prisoners! Release them now!

06/05/2021

By Citizens for Justice and Peace

Political prisoners lodged in prisons across the country need to be released temporarily in the wake of the massive surge in COVID-19 cases. It is known that prison conditions are conducive to spread of a virus like COVID-19 and these political prisoners deserve to be released on bail.
Read more/sign petition

Kin Allege Negligence as Prisoner in Taloja Jail Dies of COVID-19

07/05/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Activist Varavara Rao had also previously complained about the healthcare facilities in Taloja jail in an an affidavit submitted to a court.
A 22-year-old undertrial prisoner lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail has died of COVID-19 at a hospital, even as his family members alleged that the negligence of prison authorities led to his death.
The prisoner, identified as Vishal Anand Dasari, died at St George Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday morning, a jail official said.
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Maharashtra’s Prisons Are Feeling the Brunt of a Crisis That Could Have Been Averted

02/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Despite several directions from the Supreme Court and high court to decongest its overcrowded prisons in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government has neglected the issue.
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An Innocent Hany Babu Has Spent Nine Months in Jail: An Appeal From His Family

An Innocent Hany Babu Has Spent Nine Months in Jail: An Appeal From His Family

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

“Any further delay in commencing the trial would take his personal, academic and intellectual life further away from Hany Babu.”
Hany Babu’s family has issued an appeal for his release from prison, saying that the National Investigation Agency has arrested an innocent man. Even though forensic examinations have found that evidence against the accused persons in the Elgar Parishad case was planted, Babu’s family says, the courts and investigative agencies are not taking corrective steps.
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Release Sudha Bharadwaj! / Health of Trade Unionist Sudha Bharadwaj deteriorates in Jail

Release Sudha Bharadwaj! / Health of Trade Unionist Sudha Bharadwaj deteriorates in Jail

Update by Bar & Bench (May 13):
#BombayHighCourt directs State to file medical report of #elgarparishadcase accused Sudha Bharadwaj in her application for interim bail on medical grounds +++
The medical report will be filed by the State on May 17, the application will be heard on May 21. Bench of Justices KK Tated and Abhay Ahuja heard the plea today +++
Update by ayesha arvind (May 13)
Daughter of #SudhaBharadwaj has approached #BombayHC seeking interim medical bail for the activist. HC calls for her medical report on May 17. Bharadwaj will be taken to JJ hospital today. #NIA says there’s no urgency in the matter. Next date of hearing- May 21 +++
Her counsel says #SudhaBharadwaj is in a ward with 50 other women, incarcerated in extremely unsanitary conditions. No possibility of social distancing. Says state must file reply soon. HC- state working on only 15% strength. Will have to give them at least 4 weeks to file reply +++

Video: Release Sudha Bharadwaj!

01/05/2021


hindi | 3:07min | 2021

By ground xero

Kaladas, a cultural activist and a long term associate of Sudha Bharadwaj discusses her current medical condition and the political reasons for her arrest. He appeals to all comrades to support her immediate bail and medical treatment.
Demand immediate of Sudha Bharadwaj. Demand immediate release of all political prisoners.
Watch video

Click to enlarge
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh, May 1, 2021)

Health of Trade Unionist Sudha Bharadwaj deteriorates in Jail

02/05/2021

tnlabour.in / by tnlabour.in

Workers demand her immediate release and proper medical treatment
Trade Union leader and Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj’s health condition has deteriorated in Byculla Jail in Maharashtra. She has been complaining of body aches and diarrhoea in the past week. Her union members and family sent messages today saying she is having difficulty breathing. Even though these are typical symptoms of COVID and the jail has over 40 COVID positive patients, she is not being treated as per covid protocol. The Jail authorities claim that her RT-PCR for covid is negative.
Read more

Health of Trade Unionist Sudha Bharadwaj Deteriorates in Jail: Workers Demand Release

01/05/2021

Ground Xero / by Ground Xero

Workers demand her immediate release and proper medical treatment
Trade Union leader and Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj’s health condition has deteriorated in Byculla Jail in Maharashtra. She has been complaining of body aches and diarrhoea in the past week. Her union members and family sent messages today saying she is having difficulty breathing. Even though these are typical symptoms of COVID and the jail has over 40 COVID positive patients, she is not being treated as per covid protocol. The Jail authorities claim that her RT-PCR for COVID is negative.
Read more

Maharashtra’s Prisons Are Feeling the Brunt of a Crisis That Could Have Been Averted

Maharashtra’s Prisons Are Feeling the Brunt of a Crisis That Could Have Been Averted

Maharashtra’s Prisons Are Feeling the Brunt of a Crisis That Could Have Been Averted

02/05/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Despite several directions from the Supreme Court and high court to decongest its overcrowded prisons in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state government has neglected the issue.
… The total prison capacity of Maharashtra’s jails is 24,032. As of March 31 this year, 35,124 prisoners were languishing across different Central and district prisons. In April, the number must have further increased. This alarmingly high number – 11,000 more than the actual capacity or 146% occupancy – continues even after the state was directed to work towards decongesting prisons over a year ago.
… Cultural and anti-caste activist Jyoti Jagtap, who was arrested last year for her alleged role in the Elgar Parishad case, is among those who have been infected and has been kept at a temporary centre. Her lawyers have been struggling to establish contact with her to know her medical condition. The temporary set-ups lack basic telephone facilities and many prisoners’ families have complained of their inability to check on the health and well-being of those incarcerated. Meanwhile, advocate and academic Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in the same case and Jagtap, has started showing symptoms.
Read more

‘Jail chief has no authority to comment on health of inmate´

02/05/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Civil rights activists respond to reports of Byculla jail superintendent’s statement on Sudha Bharadwaj.
Several civil rights activists on Saturday said “the jail superintendent is no authority to give an opinion on the clinical condition of a jailed person” while responding to news reports on the Byculla jail superintendent’s comments on the health of Sudha Bharadwaj, one of the accused in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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Sudha Bharadwaj’s health deteriorating, say kin, friends / Release Sudha Bharadwaj!

Sudha Bharadwaj’s health deteriorating, say kin, friends / Release Sudha Bharadwaj!


May1, 2021 in Bhilai

Sudha Bharadwaj’s health deteriorating, say kin, friends

01/05/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Family members and friends of lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, lodged in jail in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case, said on Friday that the activist’s health is deteriorating.
Bharadwaj is lodged in Byculla women’s jail in Mumbai, which has seen over 40 new Covid-19 cases this month. Jail officials said that Bharadwaj had last week tested negative for Covid-19.
Read more

Release Sudha Bharadwaj!

01/05/2021

Click to enlarge
Bhilai (Chhattisgarh, Mai 1, 2021)

Sudha Bharadwaj, currently in Byculla jail, has been showing covid like symptoms

By Chhotubhai Vasava:
Sudha bharadwaj is ill in byculla jail fatigue, lack of appetite, loose motions and now she has also lost her sense taste and smell. She has applied for medical checkup. none done. She needs to be treated immediately +++

By N S:
Sudha Bhardwaj ill in byculla jail. Not getting treatment. Please please my lords in the Supreme Court take suo Moto cognisance and release all the bk 16 on bail +++

By Kavita Krishnan:
This is so awful. In Modi’s India we worry about our friends dying of Covid-19 – but also have to worry about friends imprisoned indefinitely on false pretexts, getting Covid-19 in prison, remaining undiagnosed and untreated.
Free Sudha Bharadwaj and ensure the best treatment +++

By The Polis Project:
Sudha Bharadwaj, one of the BK 16, is displaying COVID symptoms. She is not being provided medical treatment despite request +++

By ABA Justice Defenders Program:
Alarming reports that human rights lawyer @Sudhabharadwaj has been denied access to medical attention amid a severe #COVID19 crisis. We urge authorities to immediately allow access to adequate medical care and grant pre-trial bail to all #BhimaKoregaon defenders +++

#ReleaseSudhaBharadwaj
#DeCongestPrisons
#bhimakoregaon16

Also read: RELEASE SUDHA BHARADWAJ AND OTHERS FRAMED IN BHIMA KOREGAON CASE
CALL FOR INDEPENDENT TIME-BOUND PROBE INTO HACKING CLAIMS (April 24, 2021)

NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop / Objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Report

NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop / Objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Report

NIA Denies Hacking Rona Wilson’s Laptop In Bhima Koregaon Case; Says Arsenal Consulting Has No Locus To Give Opinion Of Sub-Judice Matter

01/05/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has denied the report by digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting, which concluded that incriminating material, including a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister and overthrow the government, was planted on Elgaar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon accused, researcher Rona Wilson’s laptop.
The NIA made these claims in an affidavit to oppose interim relief to Wilson, stating his petition before the Bombay High Court was not maintainable.
Read more

Rona Wilson can´t rely on Forensic Report by US firm to seek quashing of Case: NIA to Bombay High Court

01/05/2020

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The petitioner can rely upon the same only during the trial when evidence is led and not in a plea seeking quashing, the NIA submitted.
The forensic report by US firm, Arsenal Consulting cited by Bhima Koregaon accused Rona Wilson to claim innocence, is not part of the chargesheet and cannot, therefore, be relied upon by the accused to seek quashing of chargesheet, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court.
Read more

NIA objects to entertaining petition based on Arsenal Consulting Report

30/04/2021

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod

THE Bhima Koregaon case came into the spotlight again when The Washington Post made a sensational revelation that the electronic evidence being used against the activists in the Bhima Koregaon case was planted. It relied on the report prepared by a digital forensics firm, M/s Arsenal Consulting, which was approached by the defence lawyer of one of the accused, Rona Wilson, for examining an electronic copy of his seized laptop.
Wilson, who has been an under-trial in the Bhima Koregaon case since June 6th, 2018, recently approached the Bombay High Court, invoking Article 226 of the Constitution of India, and Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, seeking the quashing of sanctions to prosecute him and others under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Read more

Also read: Why Sudhir Dhawale’s acquittal in a 2014 case of Naxal involvement is relevant to the Bhima Koregaon arrests (The Caravan, June 2018)

Mostly Dalits, Adivasis, 97% undertials ‘falsely’ accused, release them, demands JMM

Mostly Dalits, Adivasis, 97% undertials ‘falsely’ accused, release them, demands JMM

Counterview / by Counterview Desk

Making the 84th birth anniversary of Father Stan Swamy – the veteran Adivasi rights Jesuit priest languishing Taloja Jail, Maharashtra, for about four months for his alleged role in Bhima Koregaon violence – as the occasion, the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha (JJM), a civil rights organisation, has demanded that “lakhs of undertrials with no justice in sight” should be released immediately.
Pointing out that Stan Swamy too is an undertrial, JMM said, was involved in a study carried out in 2014-16, which revealed that about 97 percent of the surveyed undertrial prisoners “were falsely accused of being Maoists”. 
Read more

Video: Father Stan Swamy’s 84th birthday celebrations online

Video: Father Stan Swamy’s 84th birthday celebrations online


en + hindi | 1h34min | 2021

By PUCL & friends and co-travellers of Father Stan Swamy

The PUCL along with the friends and co-travellers of Father Stan Swamy,
invite you to join online Father Stan’s 84th birthday celebrations.

Watch video @ PUCL fb page here

Through his own writings from the prison, and know why the State fears him and why the Bhima Koregaon case is cooked up, along with messages of solidarity for his release and that of other Prisoners of Conscience.
Father Stan stands as a symbol of struggle and resistance against the repression of Tribals and has been falsely implicated and arrested since October 2020 in the Bhima Koregaon “conspiracy” case. A Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, he has worked in Jharkhand for over three decades on issues of land, forest and labour rights in order to create a world where there is love, peace and justice.
#ReleaseFatherStanNOW #ReleaseAllBK16Prisoners

Also watch: Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution (PUCL, Jan 2021)

Three Day consultation on 20th, 21st and 22nd January, 2021
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (en + … | 2h 51min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (en +… | 2h 22min | Jan 2021)
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (en + … | 2h 17min | Jan 2021)

In letters, Stan Swamy speaks about co-inmates, life behind bars

27/04/2021

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Swamy, who turned 84 on Monday, was arrested on October 8, last year, from Ranchi by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in the Elgaar Parishad case.
From his daily routine to the experiences of his co-inmates in jail, Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s communication through letters and phones calls with his colleagues and friends gives a glimpse into the 200 days spent in jail by the country’s oldest prisoner arrested in a terror case.
Read more

Birthday greetings to Fr Stan Swamy: True Meaning of Solidarity / Video: A Caged Bird Can Still Sing

Birthday greetings to Fr Stan Swamy: True Meaning of Solidarity / Video: A Caged Bird Can Still Sing

Birthday greetings to Fr Stan Swamy, in jail: You taught us true meaning of solidarity

26/04/2021

Counterview / by Fr Cedric Prakash SJ

Dear Stan,
It is rather unusual and certainly not normal to wish someone who is in prison “A Happy Birthday!” One’s birthday cannot be ‘happy’ in prison; however, in wishing you we celebrate your life: your mission and your message and above all, those whom you have so closely identified with, all these years so “Birthday Greetings to you dear Fr. Stan!
Our prayer today is one of thanksgiving to Almighty God for the Gift of You: to so many people everywhere: particularly the poor and the excluded, the Adivasis and Dalits; to the Country, the Church and the Society of Jesus.
Read more

Music video: A Caged Bird Can Still Sing

26/04/2021


en | 3:47min | 2021

By Bombay Jesuits

This Rap song is a tribute to Fr. Stan Swamy SJ on the occasion of his 84th Birthday (26th April) Since October 2020 he has been in prison arrested under UAPA in Bhima Koregaon case. He has dedicated his life for the service of the Tribals and marginalized in central India. A true prophet of our times he continues to be a symbol of resistance and a messenger of justice, peace and love not just in the world outside but even in jail. The chorus of this song- “We’ll still sing in chorus, a caged bird can still sing” is taken from one of his letters written from the prison.
Watch video

Birthday cards for Fr Stan Swamy SJ

26/04/2021

By SJES ROME