Repression – free them all

The Making Of Sharjeel Usmani and His Speech At Elgar Parishad

18/02/2021 Maya

The Wire / by Betwa Sharma

The 23-year-old former student of AMU is facing charges of sedition for his speech. He says he is fighting for his “fair share in Indian society”.
When Sharjeel Usmani was invited to speak at the Elgar Parishad event on January 30 in Pune, the 23-year-old did not think twice before saying yes. He was undeterred by the fact that over a dozen activists and thinkers had been jailed since the event was first held on December 31, 2017, to mark 200 years of the historic battle in which the Mahar regiment of Dalit soldiers defeated the Brahmin Peshwas. He was undeterred by the fact that he had already been charged for attempt to murder, rioting and promoting communal disharmony, following the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), and spent two months in jail last year.
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Colin Gonsalves interview: Policemen who pursue malafide cases should face crippling fines

15/02/2021 Rani

Scroll.in / by Smitha Nair

The noted lawyer speaks about the need for a legal framework to make the state pay for violating civil liberties by way of wrongful prosecutions.
The recent spate of FIRs invoking sedition charges against journalists for allegedly sharing unverified information on social media about the death of a protestor during the farmers’ tractor rally on January 26 has prompted a former Supreme Court judge to call for an interventionist approach by the apex court to deal with the “rampant abuse of the criminal justice system”.
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Have We Seen the Last of Conspiracies? / The Kashmir Model to Discipline Indian Media

13/02/2021 Rani

Have We Seen the Last of Conspiracies?

13/02/2021

Newsclick / by Ajay Gudavarthy

There is a need to now explain and create a sensible narrative about how conspiracies become narratives that favour the ruling dispensation.
The idea that “conspiracy theories” can explain politics is often rubbished, but now, after the recent revelations by Washington Post that a plot was allegedly hatched to compromise the laptop of jailed activist Rona Wilson, it has become imperative to see how conspiracies have been systematically used by the current regime.
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The Kashmir Model to Discipline Indian Media

13/02/2021

The Wire / by Pamela Philipose

What is striking about recent developments in India is the manner in which the media, both legacy and social, have become entangled with the politics of the day. In fact, they have become the site upon which politics plays out.
Whether it is the raid conducted by the Enforcement Directorate on the offices of NewsClick, the ongoing counter-narrative to the farmer protests conducted by the BJP’s troll armies, the spiriting away of journalists by the police, the battles against tweets put out by Greta and Rihanna, the Twitter spats, or the ever-tightening surveillance net cast by the government on media operations, what is at stake, as Shoshana Zuboff reminded us in a different context, is “sovereignty over one’s own life and authorship of one’s own experience.”
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Video: The Needle of Doubt is Now on All Matters, says Mihir Desai / India’s democracy in decline

12/02/2021 Rani

Video: Not Just Bhima Koregaon, the Needle of Doubt is Now on All Matters, says Mihir Desai

12/02/2021

hindi | 23:12min | 2021

Newsclick / Bhasha Singh in conversation with Mihir Desai

In a special offering by Newsclick, senior journalist Bhasha Singh spoke to Mihir Desai, a senior advocate at the Bombay High Court about the new revelation by The Washington Post in the Bhima Koregaon case which has revealed that offensive material was planted through a software on arrested political activist Rona Wilson’s laptop. The disclosure is important because it almost makes it clear that electronic evidence was planted in the Bhima Koregaon case and there is a strong sense of fear that it may happen in other cases as well.
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Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

India’s democracy in decline

12/02/2021

Washington Post / by Joanna Slater and Niha Masih

The future of the world’s largest democracy is looking increasingly less democratic. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most dominant Indian leader in five decades, while the country’s independent institutions have rarely appeared weaker…
One case in particular has become a litmus test for the rule of law and freedom of expression in India. Three years ago, police in a state controlled by Modi’s party began arresting activists under a stringent anti-terrorism law.
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After Washington Post Exposé India Needs to Amend Rules on Electronic Evidence

11/02/2021 Rani

After Washington Post Exposé India Needs to Amend Rules on Electronic Evidence

11/02/2021

The Leaflet / by Dushyant

The Washington Post newspaper has published a report in which Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm, exposes the “extremely dark” and “very organised” hacking of activist Rona Wilson’s laptop to plant incriminating evidence related to the Bhima Koregaon incident. The revelations should trigger a rethink of how evidentiary value of electronic records, writes Dushyant.
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Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

Activists and Politicians Demands Special Probe after Revelation

11/02/2021

Newsclick / by Amey Tirodkar

When Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh chaired a meeting to check whether they could reopen the case, the NIA took over it the very next day, on January 25, 2020.
On Wednesday, February 10, The Washington Post reported that the laptop of Rona Wilson, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, was attacked with “malware to infiltrate” prior to his arrest and that the software deposited at least ten incriminating letters on his computer.
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Also Read: Raid On NewsClick: An Attempt To Muzzle The Voices of Dissent (Feb 10, 2021)

To Be Punished Until Proven Innocent – Jails Are Full Of Undertrials

10/02/2021 Rani

Outlook / by Puneet Nicholas Yadav

Our jails are full of undertrials. Are they being punished before their guilt is established in court?
“There is no reason why these undertrial prisoners should be allowed to continue to languish in jail, merely because the State is not in a position to try them within a reasonable period of time. It is possible that some of them, on trial, may be acquitted of the offences charged against them and, in that event, they would have spent several years in jail for offences that they are ultimately found not to have committed. What faith would these people have in our system of administration of justice? Would they not carry a sense of frustration and bitterness against a society that keeps them in jail for so many years for offences they did not commit?”
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Elgar organisers back Usmani; BJP demands action against them / 3 SC Lawyers Cleared My Speech: Usmani on FIRs

08/02/2021 Rani

Elgar organisers back Usmani; BJP demands action against them

08/02/2021

Hindustan Times / by Shalaka Shinde

Elgar organisers on Sunday issued a statement showing vehement support to Usmani (23), an activist and a student of Aligarh Muslim University in light of two cases registered against him – one in Pune and one in Lucknow.
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We stand with Sharjeel, say Elgaar Parishad organisers

07/02/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

“Sangh Pariwar again provoked their castiest and communal hatred by targeting Sharjeel. The incident went on to charge Sharjeel for provoking religious sentiments and sedition. We as organizers of the Elgar Parishad are standing firmly with Sharjeel Usmani,” it stated.
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‘3 SC Lawyers Cleared My Speech’: Usmani on FIRs, Sedition Case

06/02/2021

The Quint / by Aishwarya S Iyer

I showed the transcript of my speech to three lawyers… three Supreme Court lawyers. All three of them said that not one word in the entire speech can be commissioned as an offence in any Indian court.”
Despite being cautious of the speech he was going to give at an Elgar Parishad event organised at Pune’s Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on January 30, 23-year-old Sharjeel Usmani has been booked for sedition, other than already being booked under charges of promoting enmity on grounds of religion, due to his ‘provocative’ statements from 30 January.
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Now, Bhujbal miffed at Usmani’s ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks

05/02/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Ambedkarite outfit backs student leader.
Maharashtra Minister and Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Thursday expressed anger over the alleged ‘anti-Hindu’ remarks of Aligarh Muslim University student leader Sharjeel Usmani in a speech at the second edition of the Elgaar Parishad on January 30 in Pune.
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Sedition Charges filed against Sharjeel Usmani in Lucknow

04/02/2021

The Leaflet / by Rhea Binoy

Days after an FIR was filed against former Aligarh Muslim University student Sharjeel Usmani in Pune, for ‘promoting enmity between different groups’, another FIR has been filed against Usmani in Lucknow, this time with charges of sedition included.
An FIR under few charges, including sedition, has been registered against former Aligarh Muslim University student, Sharjeel Usmani in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station, in connection to his speech at the Elgar Parishad in Pune.
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What is Elgar Parishad 2021?

04/02/2021

Jagranjosh / by Arfa Javaid

On 30 January 2021, Elgar Parishad event was organised by ‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’ at Ganesh Krida Kala Manch in Pune’s Swargate area. Two FIRs have been lodged against former AMU student Sharjeel Usmani over his objectionable comments at the Elgar Parishad conclave…
Reacting over the FIR, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh stated that Sharjeel Usmani will be arrested from wherever he is.
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We Pointed Out When Sharjeel Usmani Used Word ‘Hindu’ Instead Of ‘Manuwadi’: Organiser Of Elgar Parishad

04/02/2021

BW Busindessworld / by ANI

We pointed out when Sharjeel Usmani used word ‘Hindu’ instead of ‘Manuwadi’: Organiser of Elgar Parishad.
Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 4 (ANI): After a case was registered against a former Aligarh Muslim University student in Maharashtra for allegedly delivering a controversial speech at a conclave in Pune, one of the organisers of the event, Retd Justice Kolse Patil said that they pointed it out on stage when the Sharjeel Usmani had used the word ‘Hindu’ instead of ‘Manuwadi’.
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FIR against Muslim student leader Sharjeel Usmani over Elgar Parishad speech

04/02/2021

The Siasat Daily / by Sreshta Ladegaam

Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said that Usmani will be arrested from wherever he is.
Student activist and alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University, Sharjeel Usmani has been booked for his speech at the Elgar Parishad 2021 held in Pune on January 30. The Pune Police registered an FIR against Usmani under Section 153 (A) of the Indian Penal Code at Swargate Police Station on Tuesday.
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Sharjeel Usmani booked by Pune Police over ‘provocative speech’ at Elgaar Parishad 2

03/02/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Usmani has been booked on charges of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’ following a complaint filed by a leader of the BJP’s youth wing.
Pune City police late on Tuesday registered an offence against Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), for the alleged provocative speech delivered by him at ‘Elgaar Parishad 2021’, which was held in the city on January 30.
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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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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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