Dalit Camera / by By Elgar Parishad
The purpose behind organising the Elgar Parishad this year is no different from why we organised it in 2017, under the guidance of Justice PB Sawant and Justice Kolse Patil. The situation is the same; in fact it is worsening everyday.
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By Stand with Stan Campaign and 100 other civil society organisations
A programme in solidarity with the 16 human rights defenders arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case
Date: Jan 15, 2021
en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021
► Watch video @ PUCL fb page
Moderator: Apoorvanand, Teacher and Writer
Special Address: Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Speakers: Mihir Desai, Xavier Dias, Dayamani Barla, Aloka Kujur, Virginius Xaxa, Dorothy Fernandes
Performances:
Mallika Sarabhai, “I Shall Rise” (Maya Angelou’s poem)
Santhali Dance by Shikari Pada Santhal Pargana and other cultural expressions from Jharkhand
Performance video of arrested artists from Kabir Kala Manch
More programmes: …
en | 40:56min | 2021
CJP / by CJP
CJP secretary Teesta setalvad in conversation with, Human right activist and Jesuit priest, Father Cedric Prakash and, former principal of St Xavier’s College, Father Frazer Mascarenhas to discuss the arrest of octogenarian human rights defender Fr Stan Swamy.
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Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit activist, writer, journalist, and editor of a Marathi magazine called ‘Vidrohi’, was arrested by Pune police on 6 June 2018. He was arrested previously in 2011 for 40 months, for the same reason he has been arrested this time – purported links with the Maoists. Dhawale, previously an activist of the Republican Panthers Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal, was involved in planning and execution of the Elgar Parishad, where he tried to bring activists and leaders from across political spectrum together to speak out against the Hindutva fascist regime.
Today, he spends his birthday in the infamous Taloja Jail of Mumbai.
#ReleaseBK16
#ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners
#Release_the_Poet
14/01/2021
Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access to books from outside the prison, to activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj.
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access to books from outside the prison, to activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj. The court has, however, asked the prison authorities to check the contents, if they are objectionable, before allowing the same.
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14/01/2021
Live Law / by Nitish Kashyap
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday allowed access of five books a month to lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj, who is a accused in the caste based violence that took place on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018.
Special Judge DE Kothalikar directed the Superintendent of Byculla District Prison to grant the access of books to Sudha Bharadwaj with the condition that the said books will be examined by him.
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14/01/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang India
The court further extended his hospital stay while taking on record his medical reports filed by the hospital.
The Bombay High Court commented, during the hearing of Dr. Varavara Rao’s bail plea, that the government and the NIA should take into consideration his age and ailing condition while arguing against the plea. The next hearing is scheduled for January 19, as per court’s orders. It is expected that on the next date, parties will make submissions with regards to the bail plea.
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13/01/2021
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The NIA presented two fresh reports from Nanavati Hospital on Rao’s health to the court.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said that the National Investigation Agency and Maharashtra government should keep in mind the age and health condition of poet-activist Varavara Rao while making submissions on his bail plea, PTI reported. A bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale was hearing the plea moved by Rao’s wife Hemlata, seeking relief on medical grounds.
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Counterview / by Counterview Desk
In a letter to the Government of India (GoI), three senior United Nations (UN) officials – Elina Steinerte, vice-chair of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Mary Lawlor, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and Fernand de Varennes, special rapporteur on minority issues – have said that the arrest of veteran activist Father Stan Swamy in October 2020 marks “the escalation of harassment the human rights defender has been subjected to since 2018.”
The letter, sent to GoI on November 3, 2020 but made public Mary Lawlor through a tweet on January 11, after giving two months time to send across a reply, expresses “serious concern” over the manner in which National Investigative Agency (NIA) officers have treated a senior human rights defender, suspecting, the intention appears to be to delegitimise “his peaceful human rights work.”
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By On Record
Three years after the caste violence in Bhima Koregoan, 16 human right activists have been arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in connection with the case. Multiple conspiracy theories have been laid out by the police but it may be long before they are proved and the guilty is punished.
Professor Apoorvanand from Delhi University and Harish Vasudevan, an advocate practicing at Kerala High court share their insights for the story.
Listen to podcast (11:00min)
12/01/2021
The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha
Harshali Potdar, a rights activist, is also named as a prime accused in the ongoing Elgar Parishad investigation.
A week after a Mumbai sessions court rejected a pre-arrest plea filed by rights activist Harshali Potdar, the MRA police on Monday, January 11, picked her up from a café in South Mumbai only to release her after five hours.
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07/01/2021
The Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil
A sessions court on Wednesday rejected the anticipatory bail application of activist Harshali Potdar, one of the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad conclave, in a case registered against her in MRA Marg Police Station for sharing an allegedly communal social media post.
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By twenty initiating movements/organisations
Online programmes:
• On 15 January: HUNDRED DAYS of the incarceration of Father Stan Swamy and the brutal face of the Indian State
• On 20, 21, 22 January: Repeal UAPA, the draconian legal tool to indefinitely put dissenters behind bars, using the bogey of national security and extremism.
• On 24 January: “Why does the Indian State fear Sudha Bharadwaj”. The Release of a PUCL published book on Advocate, activist, trade unionist, lawyer and mother Sudha Bharadwaj.
Dear Friends,
SALAAM!
During the last 20 months since the 2019 elections, we have all witnessed the depths to which the present ruling party can descend to crush, subvert, deny, undermine and weaken the institutions, structure and processes of rule of law and constitutional democracy. Brazenly and with impunity, the government has used the law and the police agencies to stifle and silence democratic voices of dissent through false prosecutions and persecution of rights defenders and undemocratic measures to curb the lawful activities of organisations. What is most distressing is the near-total abdication of their constitutional duties to safeguard constitutionally mandated fundamental rights and crushing of dissent by constitutional institutions, including the Supreme and High courts.
As happened in the emergency period and other times in our history as an independent nation, citizens are now standing up to say “Enough is enough” and are fighting to safeguard the Indian Constitution, rule of law and democracy. …