Statements – Page 4 – free them all

In What Language Does Truth Speak to A Tormented People. Statement by Sudhir, Rona, Surendra & Mahesh

06/06/2024 Asha

The Wire / by Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling and Mahesh Raut

Intimations on the sixth year of continuing incarceration of the BK-16.
We live in a moment where truth is treason. Under the fascist onslaught of Brahmanical Hindutva, truth has become consumed with fear – the fear of being watched, being surveilled, being criminalised, neutralised, or even eliminated. But the fear, at the end, is itself a whistleblower.
We, the BK 16, known after the eponymous Bhima Koregaon case, complete six years of incarceration on June 6, 2024 under the stringent anti-terror law, UAPA [Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act], where the onus is on the accused to prove their innocence; under heavy odds against the Modi dispensation that dubs speaking truth to power treason, anti-Hindu, an act of terror.
Read full statement

Also read:

‘We are all prisoners of conscience’, say those facing trial in Bhima Koregaon case on the occasion of fourth anniversary of their arrests (The Leaflet / June 2022)

Who Does June 4 Belong to?

05/06/2024 Asha

Illustration credits: Rohit Kumar / The Wire

The Wire / by Rohit Kumar

This is the collective win of millions.
June 4 will go down as the day democracy came back from the dead in India, the day the almighty Bharatiya Janta Party failed to get even a simple majority in what former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has called the “hottest and most hateful” Lok Sabha elections, ever.
Most of all, it will be remembered as the day the power of Narendra Modi was broken.
…
It belongs to Father Stan Swamy who lived his life for the tribals of India and who was denied even a sipper during his last hellish days in Taloja Jail.
The day belongs to Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Rona Wilson, G.N. Saibaba and everyone who was arrested in the farcical Elgar Parishad case.
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by Indira Jaising / @IJaising (June 4)
My concern as always , will the election results help the judiciary “ get up stand up, stand up for OUR rights” @TheLeaflet_in, as always our tag line Constitution First

Wake up judiciary , the PM and his law officers are not invincible , bail not jail is the law of the land @TheLeaflet_in as always Constitution First

Also read:
▪ Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months (article 14 / Dec 2023)

7/16 Bhima Koregaon Accused Get Bail, Courts Raise Prima Facie Doubts About Evidence

23/05/2024 Asha

Live Law / by Manu Sebastian

The Bhima Koregaon case, in which several activists and academicians have been incarcerated under the draconian Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act 1967 over alleged Maoist links, raises a big question mark on India’s civil liberties framework. The fact that the trial has not yet commenced for nearly six years makes one question the seriousness of the allegations concerning national security. Moreover, the doubts about the sustainability of the allegations are fortified by the repeated observations made by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court in the judgments granting bail to some of the accused.
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Video by InSAF India / @IndInsaf (May 23, 2024)

Why has Adivasi land rights scholar-activist Mahesh Raut not been released yet from prison even though he was given bail in 2023?
en | 1:35 | 2024
Watch video

Also read:
▪ The process continues to clot as punishment as another year passes by (The Leaflet / Jan 2024)
▪ Recovering the Basics: The Supreme Court’s Bail Order in Vernon Gonsalves’ Case (Constitutional Law and Philosophy / July 2023)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report

Gautam Navlakha Released | Gautam Navlakha’s letter on release from custody

19/05/2024 Asha

Released: Gautam with his partner Sabha Husain

Gautam Navlakha’s letter on release from custody

19/05/2024

pudr.org / by Gautam Navlakha

I wish to thank the Supreme Court for upholding the bail granted to me by the Bombay High Court. It proved to be a long wait but well worth it.
Although happy for myself, I am saddened that the fate of scores of fellow dissidents implicated in a variety of cases, still hangs in balance. Years of our life have been snatched from us as prisoners awaiting trial, which itself will take years to conclude.
Read full letter

Others still languish in life of uncertainty, says activist Gautam Navlakha on release from custody

19/05/2024

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The human rights activist was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Bhima Koregaon case on May 14.
Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha on Sunday said that while he had been released from custody in the Bhima Koregaon case, he is saddened that the fate of several fellow dissidents implicated in other cases still hangs in balance.
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Gautam Navlakha Released

19/05/2024

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Gautam Navlakha was released from custody, which had been in the form of house arrest in Navi Mumbai, on Saturday late evening, at around 8:30 pm.
The Supreme Court on May 14 lifted the stay on the bail granted to rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Gautam Navlakha granted bail by Supreme Court; orders him to pay 20 lakhs for the expenses incurred during his house arrest (cjp / May 2024)
▪ Bombay High Court grants, stays bail to Gautam Navlakha (The Leaflet / Dec 2023)

A Captive’s Musings on Freedom: Gautam Navlakha’s Notes From Prison

19/05/2024 Asha

19/05/2024

The Wire / by Gautam Navlakha

It is at a time like this that one faces a critical choice: to either fall silent and submit to the authorities or to continue to strive and struggle for freedom, unmindful of the outcome.
The following is an article written by activist Gautam Navlakha during his period of incarceration.

“…..No, freedom does not die alone. At the same time justice is forever exiled, the nation agonises, and innocence is crucified anew every day.”

– Albert Camus in Resistance, Rebellion and Death.

A captive’s understanding of freedom, by its very loss, becomes acute. Severe restrictions on movement and mobility are compounded by unreasonable constraints placed on expression and speech.
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PUDR welcomes bail to civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha / NAJ, DUJ, APWJF Welcome Bail

15/05/2024 Asha

PUDR welcomes bail to civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha

15/05/2024

pudr.org / by Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

In the Bhima Koregaon case, with relief PUDR welcomes the Supreme Court order upholding regular bail for Gautam Navlakha, a well-known civil rights activist, author and journalist. The Bombay High Court had granted Navlakha bail on December 19, 2023, but the Court also stayed his release and gave three weeks to the NIA to appeal in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court had extended the stay. On May 14, 2024, the Supreme Court ended the stay on bail, stating that Gautam Navlakha has spent over four years in custody, the charges are yet to be framed, and the trial would take several years to complete.
Read full statement

NAJ, DUJ, APWJF Welcome Bail to Journalists

15/05/2024

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Three journalists’ unions have welcomed the bail given to journalists Prabir Purkayastha, Gautam Navlakha and Asif Sultan in three different UAPA cases. The National Alliance of Journalists (NAJ), the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the Andhra Pradesh Working Journalists Federation (APWJF) in a joint statement hailing the bail orders warned against malicious prosecution and re-arrest of these journalists.
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If those on bail are tracked 24/7, has their liberty really been (partially) restored?

13/05/2024 Asha

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

How does pairing mobile phones and using GPS trackers on persons on bail sit with settled jurisprudence and what do experts have to say on the issue?
Last month, the Supreme Court granted the former head of the department of English at Nagpur University, Professor Shoma Sen, bail in the Bhima Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Read more

Also read:
▪ Share Gps live location with nia 24×7: Supreme Court bail conditions for Shoma Sen (Bar & Bench / April 2024)
▪ Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / Jul 2023)

Why the Life and Times of Fr Stan Swami Matter Even More Today

22/04/2024 Maya

Indian Catholic Matters / by Verghese V Joseph

Fr Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, dedicated his life to fighting for the rights of the marginalised and oppressed in India. His unwavering commitment to social justice and human rights earned him the title of the country’s oldest prisoner charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in a Maoist conspiracy. Swamy’s death on July 5, 2021, while still in custody, has sparked outrage and calls for justice from human rights organisations and individuals around the world.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Jharkhand police to probe into Maoist links with Stan Swamy’s ‘Bagaicha’, 63 other frontal organisations (The New Indian Express / Sep 2023)
▪ Can Father Stan Swamy’s PIL be the blueprint for justice to thousands of undertrials lodged under UAPA? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)

▪ An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection

Indian Social Institute, Bangalore | by Stan Swamy | August 2021
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

▪ Framed to Die – The Case of Stan Swamy

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Peoples Union for Democratic Rights, Delhi
Language: English
Paperback: 45 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

A Mango Republic – The arrest and incarceration of the multitude of people …

21/04/2024 Asha

The Wire / by Natasha Narwal

The arrest and incarceration of the multitude of people languishing in our prisons is as political as that of Kejriwal. How many mangoes will it take to get them out?
With the heat waves and rising mercury, the season of mango is here. But this season, mango is not just a fruit, it also seems to be a key conspirator in the plot to get Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal out of Tihar Jail. The chargesheet is still awaited in the case, but its good name has been dragged through the mud. What’s a mango supposed to do?
Behind this comedy of errors lies the horror of dismantling of Indian democracy.
Kejriwal’s arrest and incarceration is a watershed moment marking the crisis of democracy and free and fair elections in the country. But this moment has long been in the making and all those who want to fight for a democratic future must confront this history.
Read more

Also read:
▪ India – Fundamental Freedoms Deteriorate Further in Modi’s Second Term (CIVICUS / April 2024)
▪ Five Questions on the Shameful Proceedings Against Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal (The Wire / Jun 2023)
▪ The Uses (and Abuses) of Investigative Agencies (The Wire / Nov 2022)
▪ Maharashtra is adding activists to a secret list of the enemies of state (Newslaundry / July 2021)
▪ How Governments Avoid Due Process by Declaring Groups as ‘Front Organisations’ of Banned Entities (The Wire / Sep 2020)

PUDR: Uphold Shoma Sen’s Bail Order – Release all Bhima Koregaon detainees!

08/04/2024 Asha

pudr.org / by PUDR

PUDR expresses relief at the Supreme Court’s granting of bail to Prof. Shoma Sen on April 5, after nearly six long years of pre-trial incarceration. Charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the infamous Bhima Koregaon (BK) conspiracy case, Shoma Sen is the fourth accused to be released on ‘bail on merits’ by the Supreme Court, after Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira.
Read full statement

Also read:
▪ PUDR welcomes the release on bail of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira today, but protests onerous bail conditions (PUDR / Aug 2023)
▪ Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice! (PUDR / June 2023)
▪ Stop Denying Political Prisoners the Right to Healthcare in Jails (PUDR / Sep 2022)