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Category: Solidarity

UK Organisations condemn imminent arrest & demand release of all political rights activists

UK Organisations condemn imminent arrest & demand release of all political rights activists

aisa solidarity posters

Documented by Countercurrents

The police in the State of Maharashtra, India, acting at the behest of the central BJP Hindutva government, is forcing the arrest of Professor Dr Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha under August 2018 fabricated charges, accusing them of involvement in violence that occurred at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. …
To redeem the situation Indian government and the judiciary must:
– Grant bail to Dr Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha
– Immediately release all falsely implicated in the Bhima Koregaon case
– Release all Political Prisoners
– Repeal UAPA, NSA, AFSA and all other draconian laws
Read full statement

Koel Sen Pleads For Her Mother’s Release From Jail During A Pandemic

Koel Sen Pleads For Her Mother’s Release From Jail During A Pandemic

Amnesty International India / by Koel Sen

The last time I met my mother – Professor Shoma Sen, was on 29 February 2020 at the Byculla District Jail in Mumbai for 15 minutes. All meetings at the jail have been cancelled in the wake of the nation-wide lockdown announced from 25 March 2020. On Sunday, 5 April 2020, many heeded the Prime Minister’s call to light candles and show solidarity against the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, some of us, families of the Bhima Koregaon arrestees, remained in the dark about the future of our loved ones.
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An Appeal to Implement Programme of Solidarity with Prof. Anand Teltumbde

An Appeal to Implement Programme of Solidarity with Prof. Anand Teltumbde

By All India Forum for Right to Education

I STAND WITH ANAND
Dear Friends,
As you know that Prof. Anand Teltumbde is facing impending incarceration on 6th April not with standing the danger to his life due to Covid-19 infection. It clearly appears to be the attempt of the Government of India to persecute an intellectual whose voice it finds to be discomforting. Prof. Teltumbde is one of those rare intellectuals who synergized caste-class analysis (Ambedkar and Marx) quite on the lines of Shahid Bhagat Singh.
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A letter to Anand Teltumbde, on his way to jail

A letter to Anand Teltumbde, on his way to jail

The Wire / by Vijay Prashad & Sudhanva Deshpande

‘You are being sent to jail because you are part of a tidal wave of dissent against this government and what it has done to Indian democracy.’

Dear Anand,
On Monday, there will probably be a knock on your door. Police officers are likely to arrive to arrest you. They will carry with them a range of papers, a file overflowing with notes that refer to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code.
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Mounting international concern over detention of civil rights activists in India in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

Mounting international concern over detention of civil rights activists in India in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

The Caravan / by The Caravan Staff

Over 5,000 Individuals and 15 Organizations Sign Global Statement of Support for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Mr. Gautam Navlakha.
Various democratic rights and social rights organizations such as European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights (ELDH), International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), Paris, Ambedkar International Center, USA, All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), India and many more have signed the petition. 
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Sign statement: Global Solidarity Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

Over 300 IIT alumni, students, profs extend support to Anand Teltumbde

Over 300 IIT alumni, students, profs extend support to Anand Teltumbde

The New Indian Express / by Johanna Deeksha

Members of the pan-IIT community – faculty, scientists, researchers, students and alumni issued a joint statement condemning the actions of the state ‘in their individual capacities.’
In a order that surprised many, activists and scholar, Gautam Navalakha and Anand Teltumbde were directed by the Supreme Court to surrender to the Pune Police within three weeks in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case. This was on March 16. In about a week’s time, the two charged under the UAPA will have to surrender.
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DON’T PITY ANAND TELTUMBDE, PITY THE SYSTEM THAT INCARCERATES HIM

01/04/2020

The Wire / by Anirban Goswami and Anupam Banerjee

His incarceration shall remain an indelible black mark on the history of governance of this country.
When he surrenders on April 6, 2020, as per the Supreme Court’s directions, professor Anand Teltumbde will be the first alumnus of the hallowed IIM, Ahmedabad, the first IIT professor and the first CEO of a company to be charged under the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which renders a person suspected by the police utterly defenceless.
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‘Don’t jail Teltumbde and Navlakha amid Covid-19 crisis,’ global scholars urge India

‘Don’t jail Teltumbde and Navlakha amid Covid-19 crisis,’ global scholars urge India

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The two civil rights activists are expecting to be arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case by April 6 following a Supreme Court order last month.
More than 15 social rights organisation and over 5,000 individuals across the world have signed a statement in solidarity with activists Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha, urging the Centre to delay their arrest in the Bhima Koregaon violence case in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
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Sign statement: Global Solidarity Statement for Dr. Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

Release Those Charged Under Serious Offences – 130 Lawyers Make Recommendations [Read Letter]

Release Those Charged Under Serious Offences – 130 Lawyers Make Recommendations [Read Letter]

livelaw.in / by Nitish Kashyap

A total of 130 lawyers have written to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, State Home Minister and Chief Justice of Bombay High Court expressing grave concern regarding the safety of “thousands of individuals incarcerated in prisons and other settings of detention such as observation homes, special homes, children homes, detention centers, borstal homes, etc” in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.
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MHARASHTRA PRISONERS RELEASED SAYS JAIL UNPREPARED TO HANDLE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

31/01/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

No transport has been arranged for those who are released, while inmates still in prison fear for their health.
Mumbai: Even as the Maharashtra state government has slowly begun releasing incarcerated persons on parole and interim bail as a safeguard against the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, fear and desperation has gripped those languishing in the jail.
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Activists seek bail for political prisoners

Activists seek bail for political prisoners

The Hindu / by Staff Reporter

“COVID-19 outbreak an occasion to look at overcrowded prisons in country.”
A group of activists and intellectuals has sought bail or parole for political prisoners lodged in various jails.
In a letter to the Central and State governments, eminent persons such as writers Arundhati Roy, K. Satchidanandan and Meena Kandasamy, journalist B.R.P. Bhaskar and academics Dilip Menon and Benjamin Zachariah pointed out that the COVID-19 outbreak was also an occasion to look at the overcrowded prisons in the country.
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INTELLECTUALS APPEAL FOR RELEASE OF PRISONERS

30/03/2020

Kashimr Times / by KT News Service

New Delhi: About two dozen intellectuals, writers and academics of the country have made an urgent appeal to the government to ease the over-crowded prisons in view of the outbreak of Covid19 and also in keeping with the recent Supreme Court directive. They have sought release on bail or parole of at least some of the prisoners including political detenues from across the country.
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ACADEMICS SEND OPEN LETTER SEEKING BAIL FOR VARAVARA RAO, SUDHA BHARADWAJ

31/03/2020

The New Indian Express / by Prajanma Das

The Supreme Court has already directed the state governments to consider granting bail to remand prisoners, accused of committing crimes punishable with a maximum of seven years imprisonment.
Former Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba, Poet Varavara Rao, Dr Shoma Sen, Sudha Bharadwaj and several others including Padma and Veeramony in Tamil Nadu are in prison — either awaiting trial or are political prisoners of the state.
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