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Category: Repression

BJP rulers’ standard mode of operation amidst Covid-19: Turning ‘victims’ into accused

BJP rulers’ standard mode of operation amidst Covid-19: Turning ‘victims’ into accused

Counterview/ by Surabhi Agarwal, Sandeep Pandey, Shreekumar

At a time when there can be no mass mobilisations or street protests, and when so many people are distressed, anxious and distracted by the unprecedented challenges our country is facing due to the Covid-19 crisis, the government’s actions against activists, journalists, intellectuals and Muslims appear to be calculated and insidious.
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VINDICTIVE GOVT FINDS SEDITION UNDER EVERY STONE

14/05/2020

National Herald / by Ashlin Mathew

Even as the Government claims to be waging a desperate war against the coronavirus and the lockdown has crippled the economy, draconian laws are being invoked to punish protestors and stifle dissent.
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SC single bench on bail pleas must lead to speedy justice for Safoora Zargar, Sudha Bharadwaj

SC single bench on bail pleas must lead to speedy justice for Safoora Zargar, Sudha Bharadwaj

The Print / by Maneesh Chhibber

Supreme Court’s move to let single judge benches hear bail pleas must not end up like govt pronouncements – good to read about but with little impact on citizens’ lives.
It took a pandemic of the scale of Covid-19 for India’s Supreme Court to finally decide that single-judge benches will hear special leave petitions, or SLPs, arising out of bail orders in cases where the maximum punishment is up to seven years.
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Delhi Communal Violence Case: Jail for Pregnant Safoora, Bail for ‘Gun Supplier’ Sirohi

Delhi Communal Violence Case: Jail for Pregnant Safoora, Bail for ‘Gun Supplier’ Sirohi

The Wire / by Seemi Pasha

How can a person who was found in possession of illegal arms during a riot be granted bail in a riots case when others from whom nothing was recovered are still behind bars?
New Delhi: Consider the case of two people arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the Delhi riots of February 2020.
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Mumbai Police Land at Arrested Activist’s House to Inquire About His Whereabouts

Mumbai Police Land at Arrested Activist’s House to Inquire About His Whereabouts

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Civil liberties activist Vernon Gonsalves is lodged at Taloja jail along with others arrested in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case.
Mumbai: In a strange turn of events, two policemen from Mumbai’s crime branch landed at civil rights activist and lawyer Susan Abraham’s residence in Andheri asking the whereabouts of her husband Vernon Gonsalves, who has been in jail since 2018. Gonsalves, who was arrested in August 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case, is currently lodged at Taloja central prison located in Thane district.
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JAILED ACTIVIST´S WIFE WRITES TO MUMBAI TOP COP, CJ AFTER POLICE VISIT HER HOME

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

“My son Sagar and I were shocked and disturbed at this uncalled for visit at a time when the risk of transmission of Covid-19 between police (frontline workers) and community members is very high,” the letter states.
Activist Vernon Gonsalves’ wife, advocate Susan Abraham, has written to the Mumbai Police commissioner and Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court stating that while her husband is lodged in Taloja jail in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case, police officers from the crime branch visited their home, making inquiries about his whereabouts. Gonsalves has been behind bars since August 2018.
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Video: Joint Opposition Memorandum to President of India [full statement]

Video: Joint Opposition Memorandum to President of India [full statement]


en | 3:06 min | 2020

By Communist Party of India – Marxist Leninist-Liberation

Leaders of CPIML, CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, RSP, RJD, LJD and VCK have written a Joint Opposition Memorandum to the President of India demanding an end to the ongoing witch-hunt and release of all political prisoners in view of their enhanced health risk and to wage a united fight against Covid19.
Watch video

Joint Opposition Memorandum to President of India

11 May 2020
Release all political prisoners-
Dissenting Voices
Activists of Peoples Movements
and Opposition leaders
End Overcrowding in India’s Jails

Read full statement below

Video: Dissent Under UAPA, Bhima Koregaon

Video: Dissent Under UAPA, Bhima Koregaon


hindi, en | 1:41:48 | 2020

By Shaamil Ahmedabad

This panel, featuring Susan Abraham, Prabodhan Pol, Mihir Desai and Nihalsing Rathod, takes a closer look at the arrests of and cases against the 11 activists detained after Bhima Koregaon, and places the events within the context of caste, community and Maharashtra political dynamics. This is part 1 of a two-part series on UAPA and state suppression of dissent.
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Lockdown Used to Attack Dissenters Under UAPA: UK Diaspora Demands Immediate Release

Lockdown Used to Attack Dissenters Under UAPA: UK Diaspora Demands Immediate Release

Newsclick / by Newsclick Report

The statement mentions the arrests of journalists Masrat Zahra and Peerzada Ashiq, student activists Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider and Sharjeel Imam, civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, Dalit Marxist scholar Anand Teltumbde, amongst others.
The Indian diaspora in the United Kingdom have released a statement condemning the Modi Government’s continuous attack against students, activists, journalists and all other dissenters of the government even as India reels under a ruthless lockdown to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Govts Deployed Pegasus Spyware on People: NSO Group Tells US Court

Govts Deployed Pegasus Spyware on People: NSO Group Tells US Court

The Quint / by Sushovan Sircar

Israeli cyberweapons company, NSO Group, whose Pegasus spyware was used to hack into the phones of at least 121 Indian citizens in 2019, has told a California court that the attacks were carried out by its government clients.
Pegasus, a spyware built by the NSO Group, was found to have infiltrated the phones of 1,400 individuals globally, including human rights activists, lawyers and activists in India. 
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Misuse of UAPA by Union Government During COVID-19 Pandemic

Misuse of UAPA by Union Government During COVID-19 Pandemic

Newsclick / Press Release by Activists and Citizens of India

Condemning Misuse of UAPA by Union Government during COVID-19 Pandemic and Standing in Solidarity with Individuals & Civil Society Organisations Experiencing Targeted Crackdown
We, a group of activists and citizens of India, express our deep concern over the recent arrests on the false pretext that have been taking place using the regressive Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) by the Union government.
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Covid-19 Pandemic: Crackdown On Dissent Putting Lives At Immediate Risk In India

Covid-19 Pandemic: Crackdown On Dissent Putting Lives At Immediate Risk In India


Campaign poster, 2019

By Amnesty International India

The Government of India’s ongoing crackdown on dissent and free speech is leading to the arrest of journalists, activists, lawyers and students under repressive laws and being sent to overcrowded prisons which are potential COVID-19 hotspots. This crackdown during the pandemic puts their lives at immediate risk, said Amnesty International India today.
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MORE THAN 300 ACTIVISTS CONDEMN ARRESTS, HARASSMENT OF ANTI-CAA PROTESTERS

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

‘We have reasons to believe that the investigation is being (mis)used to crackdown on political dissent,’ write the signatories. …
These arrests seem to mark the continuation of a disturbing trend: the BJP government’s practice of covering up the violence committed by Hindutva groups by blaming democratic activists and citizens for the same, and its general disregard for the lives of citizens. Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde have been arrested over the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018, even as its real perpetrators such as Milind Ekbote (a leader of local Hindutva groups) roam free.
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