WBUR / Deepa Fernandes speaks with Suchitra Vijayan
Host Deepa Fernandes speaks with Suchitra Vijayan, co-author of the new book “How Long Can the Moon be Caged?,” which documents how people who speak in favor of Muslims and minority communities have increasingly been arrested and imprisoned by the Indian government.
Podcast en | 9:45min | 2023 Listen to the podcast
Book excerpt: ‘How Long Can the Moon be Caged?’ By Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
A Dalit activist we spoke to said that most people do not encounter the state the way Dalits, Adivasis and Muslims do. She told us: ‘The state has always had a boot on our necks.’ Forget living; imagine what it takes to survive this. The boot is always pressed against minorities’ necks, making it hard to breathe, demanding that they beg for dignity every day. She added: ‘[For us] it doesn’t matter who is in power; oppression is the only thing that hasn’t changed’. Read more
Bringing back the ghost of Pegasus malware by the ruling regime, recent alerts from Apple throw up more instances of a state-sponsored surveillance attack on leaders of the opposition and journalists
On the morning of October 31, several journalists and politicians from the opposition parties in India woke up to alerts on their iPhones pertaining to a state-sponsored attack on their phones. The alerts were sent by Apple via message and email. The alert had also alleged that the reason behind the attempts to comprising the phones of the individuals might have something to do with who they are and what they do. Read more
Global Rights Groups Urge FATF to Call on the Indian Govt to Stop Alleged UAPA, PMLA, FCRA Abuse
07/11/2023
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
Three rights organisations – Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Security Network – in a joint statement have said that India’s actions have flouted both FATF’s standards and international human rights law.
Recognising the alleged misuse of terror laws in India, several international human rights organisations have urged the global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to call on the Indian government to stop prosecuting, intimidating and harassing human rights defenders and activists. Read more
India urged to stop ‘weaponizing’ laws to crush dissent
07/11/2023
UCA News / by UCA News reporter
Counterterrorism law, financial regulations are used to target, intimidate, harass, and punish critics, rights groups say
Three global rights groups have urged the Indian government to stop targeting rights activists by abusing counterterrorism and financial laws and called on a major terror financing and money laundering watchdog to intervene.
The Indian government is “weaponizing” the laws to detain and punish rights activists, Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and the Charity & Security Network said in a joint statement on Nov. 3. Read more
India’s anti-terror laws being used to target non-profits, activists, says report ahead of FATF visit
04/11/2023
Newslaundry / by Sumedha Mittal
The FATF will visit India this month for an ‘onsite evaluation’.
Ahead of the Financial Action Task Force’s India visit to probe alleged misuse of local laws to crackdown on non-profits, a report published by a US-based rights group has alleged that India’s expanding scope of anti-terror laws have “wide-ranging adverse impacts” on rights defenders and non-profit organisations. Read more
Financial Action Task Force Review Should Document Crackdown on Dissent
The global terrorism financing and money laundering watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)opens in a new tab, should call on the Indianopens in a new tab government to stop prosecuting, intimidating and harassing human rights defenders, activists and non-profit organisations in the country on the pretext of countering terrorist financing, Amnesty International, Charity and Security Network and Human Rights Watch said today. FATF members are to start their fourth periodic review of India’s record on tackling illicit funding on November 6, 2023. Read more
From arrests based on complaints citing ‘secret inputs’ to the seizure of electronic devices without securing them, both cases reveal the malice of the gods of the hell named UAPA.
The Bombay High Court began hearing last week the petitions of professor-activist Shoma Sen and researcher-activist Rona Wilson, two among the 16 booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Bhima Koregaon case. Their plea is that the chargesheets against them should be quashed as the prosecution evidence against them was fabricated and planted on electronic devices the police seized. Read more
India: Arrests, Raids Target Critics of Government
13/10/2023
By Amnesty International, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Committee to Protect Journalists, Front Line Defenders, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), International Service for Human Rights, PEN America, Reporters Without Borders, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Indian authorities are misusing an abusive counterterrorism law, financial regulations, and other laws to silence journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and critics of the government, 12 international human rights groups said today.
… The Indian government also used UAPA to arrest 16 prominent activists who promoted the rights of India’s most marginalized communities, accusing them of inciting violence that occurred during a Dalit meeting in January 2018. Eight are still detained without trial, and seven eventually were granted bail, while one died in custody. Read full statement
UAPA, financial regulations being misused to target scribes, activists, say international rights groups
13/10/2023
The Hindu / by The Hindu Bureau
The 12 human rights groups charged Indian authorities with carrying out an “escalating crackdown” on media and civil society since the Narendra Modi-led government came to power in 2014
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and 10 other international rights groups have jointly condemned what they termed as Indian authorities’ misuse of counter-terrorism laws, financial regulations, and other laws to “silence journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and critics of the government”. Read more
The current crackdown is transparently part of the same politics that resulted in the invention of ambiguous phrases like ‘tukde-tukde gang’ and ‘Urban Naxal’.
The search and seizure operation at the residences of 46 journalists associated with NewsClick and the arrests of two people are transparently part of the same politics that resulted in the invention of the still ambiguous phrases ‘tukde-tukde gang’ and ‘Urban Naxal’.
A new category of dissenters, deprecated as anti-nationals, is ‘Urban Naxal’. This came into use since the Elgar Parishad case in 2018. A meeting of human rights activists, lawyers and others in Pune on December 31, 2017, known as the Elgar Parishad and meant to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima Koregaon battle, turned into a pretext to round up a number of ‘leftist’ activists under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Read more
NewsClick and patterns of repression: The tiredness of being a journalist
07/10/2023
Newslaundry / by Jayashree Arunachalam
For a particular kind of journalist, life is supposed to play out in sanctimonious technicolour, just like The Newsroom. Speaking truth to power, telling the stories that matter, separating fact from fiction, holding people accountable. Did you annoy a government or local bigwig in the process? No problem! That’s par for the course in the quest for truth. It’s a badge of pride, almost, because you must be doing something right.
… Think back on arrests that made headlines over the past three years. Siddique Kappan travelled to Hathras when he was arrested. Mohammed Zubair referenced a movie trope. Disha Ravi edited a Google Doc. In the Bhima Koregaon case, an extraordinary example of police audacity, the police produced outlandish letters as “proof”, even as the police themselves were accused of planting evidence. Read more
Why UAPA is a threat to media freedom in India
06/10/2023
Frontline / by Venkatesan V
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act serves as a powerful tool for the state to stifle media dissent and intimidate truth-seeking journalists.
The arrest of the NewsClick founder and Editor-in-Chief, Prabir Purkayastha and its Human Resources head, Amit Chakraborty under the UAPA has brought into focus the gross abuse of the Act by those in power to curb dissent. The First Information Report (FIR) names Purkayastha, the activist Gautam Navlakha (who is under house arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case) and the U.S. businessman Neville Roy Singham. Read more
Police FIR draws on ED claims, links NewsClick to Navlakha-Maoist case
05/10/2023
The Indian Express / by Mahender Singh Manral, Jignasa Sinha, Nirbhay Thakur
Portal rejects China link; Purkayastha, Chakraborty in 7-day police custody
A day after it invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to arrest Prabir Purkayastha, founder and editor-in-chief of news portal NewsClick, and Amit Chakraborty, the portal’s administrative officer, the Special Cell of Delhi Police obtained their custody Wednesday for 7 days in connection with its probe into alleged routing of funds to the portal and Purkayastha’s “friendship since 1991” with rights activist Gautam Navlakha who is under house arrest in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case. Read more
Gautam Navlakha, farm stir, Kashmir map: in Delhi cops’ application for Newsclick founder custody
04/10/2023
newslaudry / by Prateek Goyal
NewsClick’s founder Prabir Purkayastha and its HR head Amit Chakravarty have been sent to seven-day police custody following their arrest in a UAPA case against the organisation. However, the Delhi Police Special Cell had initially sought 15-day police custody for the two, alleging that there was electronic evidence suggesting a “conspiracy” against the sovereignty of India. Read more
This Is the Biggest Crackdown on the Indian Press by the Indian State
04/10/2023
The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta
And yet, none of the drastic actions taken by the police made much sense.
October 3, 2023 will go down in history for the biggest crackdown on Indian journalism by the Indian state. Homes of 46 journalists, including nine women, who are said to be directly and indirectly associated with the news portal NewsClick were raided by the Delhi police’s special cell that usually probes cases of terrorism in the wee hours of Tuesday.
… We still don’t know the specific charges slapped against the news portal, but some television channels, known for pro-government coverage, claimed that the portal had routed some of the Chinese funds to human rights activists Gautam Navlakha and Teesta Setalvad, who are already under the government’s scanner. Read more
‘Set narrative on CAA stir, Bhima Koregaon using Chinese funds’ — Delhi Police’s case against NewsClick
04/10/2023
The Print / by Bismee Taskin
Delhi Police have accused news portal of ‘receiving Chinese funds routed via US’ & publishing reports ‘with set narrative about protests & violence to tarnish India’s image’, it is learnt.
NewsClick used funds received illegally from China to set and propagate through its coverage a narrative about protests and violence across the country like the farmers’ agitation, the Citizenship Amendment Act protests, and the Bhima Koregaon violence — this is what the Delhi Police has alleged in its case lodged 17 August under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, ThePrint has learnt. Read more
18 Media Organisations Write to CJI; Call for Steps to end Repressive Use of Probe Agencies Against Scribes
04/10/2023
NewsClick / by Newsclick Report
Citing the raids on Newsclick, seizure of devices without following due processes and slapping of UAPA, the letter calls for framing of interrogation norms to prevent intimidation of the media.
A coalition of 18 media organisations across states has written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Y V Chandrachud seeking the judiciary’s intervention to ensure that the freedoms enshrined in the Constitution are protected so that journalists can carry out their duty without ‘threat of reprisal’. Read the full text of the letter
Poster by #bakeryprasad
NewsClick raids: Indian law has few safeguards when electronic devices are seized
03/10/2023
Scroll.in / by Abhik Deb
In an earlier case, forensics experts have said that documents cited as evidence had been planted on their devices.
As the Delhi Police raided the homes of several journalists on Tuesday in connection with an investigation into the funding of news website Newsclick, it confiscated electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops and hard drives.
… Fabrication of evidence in Bhima Koregaon case
However, even more serious allegations were raised with the Bhima Koregaon case in which several activists and writers were charged with making inflammatory speeches at a conclave in Pune in December 2017. Read more
● Statement by Newsclick on Oct 3 Raids by Special Cell of Delhi Police (By Newsclick Team / Oct 4, 2023)
We have not been provided FIR copy, or informed about the exact particulars of the alleged offences. Electronic devices have been seized from Newsclick premises and homes of employees without any adherence to due process.
Yesterday, on 3rd October, 2023, raids were carried out by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police at various locations including Newsclick’s offices, residences of journalists and employees – past and present, consultants, and freelance contributors associated with Newsclick.
Several persons were questioned and continue to be questioned. As of now, our Founder-Editor 76-year old Prabir Purkayastha and our administrative officer Amit Chakraborty, who happens to be physically challenged, have been arrested. Read full statement
We don’t want more Bhima Koregaon bogus conspiracy case / Condemn the NIA’s raid in Andhra-Telangana
Condemn the NIA’s raid in Andhra-Telangana to suppress democratic voices critical of war of corporate plunder
06/10/2023
Countercurrrents / by Forum Against Corporatization and Militarization
On 2nd October, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted raids across various locations belonging to various democratic and pro-people activists in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The organisations that have been targeted, include, Coordination of Democratic Rights Organizations (CDRO), Andhra Pradesh Civil Liberties Committee (AP CLC), Chaitanya Mahila Sangam (CMS), Pragatisheela Karmika Samakya (PKS), Patriotic Democratic Movement (PDM), Praja Kala Mandali (PKM), Vasantha Meghum, Virasam (RWA), Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL), Kula Nirmulana Porata Samiti (Struggle Committee for Caste Annihilation; KNPS), Amarula Bandhu Mitrula Sangham (ABMS), Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP) and Human Rights Forum (HRF). Read full statement
We don’t want more Bhima Koregaon bogus conspiracy case in the name of National Security
03/10/2023
Asianspeaks.com / by Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)
“In the overall situation in India, no form of democratic assertion is left untouched by the NIA’s repression in the name of Maoist links, whether they be organizations fighting for the rights of minorities, anti-caste organizations like KNPS, women’s rights organizations like the CMS or even Gandhian or Marxist-Leninist organizations. All forms of democratic assertions are under threat in this current spate of repression…”
Statement By Campaign Against State Repression
CASR STRONGLY CONDEMN THE NIA RAID IN TELENGANA AND ANDHRA PRADESH
In the early hours of 2nd October, 2023, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 62 different locations in the states of Andhra Pradesh (53) and Telangana (9) as part of their recent string of raids all over the country against democratic rights organizations. Read full statement
NIA Conducts Coordinated Raids on Rights Activists Across 62 Locations in Andhra, Telangana
03/10/2023
The Wire / Sukanya Shantha
The raids were in connection with the 2021 Munchingiputtu CPI (Maoist) conspiracy case. Devices and literature belonging to functionaries and lawyers of the Indian Association of People’s Lawyer and Human Rights Forum, along with various other rights bodies were seized.
Officials of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) arrived in groups of four and five in 62 locations across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on October 2, in coordinated raids at the homes of human rights activists and researchers.
The raid teams – comprising of NIA officers from Delhi and the local police – arrived between 5.30 am and 6 am on the day, and stayed at the locations till afternoon. Read more
The Indian government has exploited the 2010 and 2013 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assessment reports to supplement its arsenal of counterterrorism and money laundering laws, many of which are routinely used to target civil society organizations and human rights defenders. The briefing paper analyses the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Prevention of Money Laundering Act and highlights the emblematic cases of the crackdown suffered by journalists, academics, human rights activists, and students under these laws since 2010.
…
IMPACT OF UAPA ON INDIA’S NPO SECTOR
(Page 25) … Sections 17 and 40 of UAPA that relate to terrorist funding have also been arbitrarily invoked against 16 human rights activists (BK16) since 2018, nine of whom continue to be detained without trial in the Bhima Koregaon case…
India’s targeting of activists through the misuse of UAPA’s financial powers demonstrates the broader context of the crackdown on dissent in India. For example, in June 2020, after thorough and detailed research, Amnesty International and Citizen Lab uncovered that at least nine other activists who had been calling for the release of the BK16 activists were targeted through a coordinated spyware campaign. Three of them were also targeted with the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, a commercial product only sold to government entities. Read full report
