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Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

The Wire / by Rajshree Chandra

‘Trial by process’ is the political and organisational logic of the UAPA.
An 84-year-old Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, charged for inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon (BK), died inside the panoptic walls of the Taloja jail on July 5. Despite his age, despite his Parkinson’s-ravaged body, despite his tremors, despite his Covid infection, despite all his frailties, he had been denied bail repeatedly. Rather than his ailing, failing body becoming a ground for bail and appropriate medical care, his body became yet another ground on which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) waged its vicious war.
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Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

Phone calls, daily walks in jail’s green area stopped, says Navlakha’s partner

24/10/2021

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

His fragile health and well-being will be further jeopardised by these actions, says Sahba Husain.
Activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case in 2020, has recently been shifted to a high-security section of the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai and not allowed to call his family and lawyers, said his partner, Sahba Husain, in a statement on Sunday.
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Gautam Navlakha’s health has worsened in jail, not being allowed phone calls, says his partner

24/10/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The health condition of activist Gautam Navlakha deteriorated after he was shifted to the high-security barrack called the “Anda circle” in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, his partner Sahba Husain said on Sunday.
In a statement, Husain also said that the Bhima Koregaon case accused was not being allowed to make phone calls to his family members and lawyers.
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Full Statement by Sabha Husain

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Only ‘objectionable’ letters are being withheld by prison authorities: NIA to Bombay HC

Only ‘objectionable’ letters are being withheld by prison authorities: NIA to Bombay HC

Only ‘objectionable’ letters of accused are being withheld by prison authorities: NIA to Bombay HC

23/10/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Families of accused persons Anand Teltumbde and Vernon Gonsalves have alleged that the prison authorities are withholding letters sent to and received from the jailed activities.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), that is investigating the Bhima Koregaon violence case, has informed the Bombay high court that jail authorities are only withholding “objectionable” letters written by the Bhima Koregaon accused.
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Anand Teltumbde’s Letters Alleged Planting Of Evidence On Computer, Had Objectionable Contents, Hence Withheld: NIA

23/10/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Taloja Prison officials only restricted “objectionable” and “incriminating” letters written by Professor Anand Teltumbde and activist Vernon Gonsalves as it was “hampering the trial” and material against them in the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad Case, the National Investigating Agency has said.
The NIA’s reply responds to their wives’ – Rama Teltumbde and Susan Abraham’s – plea in the Bombay High Court seeking action against the then Superintendent of Taloja Prison for withholding communication with family.
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Only those letters of accused with suspicious content withheld: NIA to Bombay High Court

23/10/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The NIA’s submission came in response to a plea by wives of Anand Teltumbde and Vernon Gonsalves, alleging that superintendent of Taloja Central Prison was withholding letters sent to and received from family members.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court that not all letters written by Bhima Koregaon accused to their family members are being withheld by the jail superintendent.
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Probe panel summons police officers Param Bir Singh, Rashmi Shukla as witnesses

Probe panel summons police officers Param Bir Singh, Rashmi Shukla as witnesses

Probe panel summons police officers Param Bir Singh, Rashmi Shukla as witnesses

22/10/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Singh was additional director general (law and order) of the Maharashtra Police at the time of the violence, and Shukla was the Pune Police chief.
A judicial commission investigating the Bhima Koregaon case on Friday summoned former chiefs of the Mumbai and Pune Police, Param Bir Singh and Rashmi Shukla, to appear as witnesses in the matter, Live Law reported.
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Koregaon Bhima: Commission summons DCP (Crime) for police station records

22/10/2021

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

A two-member commission headed by retired judge justice J N Patel is probing into the causes of violence in Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, in which one person had died and several others were left injured.
Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Thursday issued summons to the deputy commissioner of police (crime) of the Pune city police asking for various records from Vishrambag police station between November 2017 and February 2018.
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Will Bhima Koregaon Commission wind up on December 31?

21/10/2021

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

‘Not giving the Commission space in Mumbai is an insult to Maharashtra’s Dalits who are waiting for the inquiry report.’ Jyoti Punwani reports.
Will the Bhima Koregaon Commission wind up by December, when the current extension granted to it expires?
That was suggested at Wednesday’s hearing by retired Justice J N Patel, who heads the two-member judicial inquiry into the violence that shook Maharashtra on January 1, 2018.
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Bhima Koregaon: Outcome of a ‘Larger Conspiracy’?

05/10/2021

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Testimony presented before the Bhima Korgaon Commission over the last two months reveals the background to the violence that broke out on January 1, 2018.
As the Bhima Koregaon accused continue to struggle for bail, important information about the violence that they are accused of instigating is emerging before the judicial commission that’s investigating the violence.
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Also read: Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots (Live Law / Sep 2021)

Video: The Digital Surveillance Crisis and Threats to Human Rights Defenders

Video: The Digital Surveillance Crisis and Threats to Human Rights Defenders

By Access Now

This event discusses how states, facilitated by private companies, are unlawfully deploying targeted surveillance technologies against civil society around the world.
The biennial General Assembly resolution on human rights defenders that will be considered at its 76th session offers is an opportunity to discuss the effects of digital surveillance on the activities and safety of human rights defenders and their rights to privacy and freedom of expression, and to adopt measures that would allow defenders to continue exercise their human rights unhindered.

Video: UN General Assembly Side Event

en | 1h 33min | 2021

Watch at YouTube

Also read:
● Pegasus Project: 161 Names Revealed By The Wire On Snoop List So Far (The Wire, Aug 2021)
● Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Bombay High Court Grants NIA Time To Respond In Anand Teltumbde’s Bail Appeal

Bombay High Court Grants NIA Time To Respond In Anand Teltumbde’s Bail Appeal

Bombay High Court Grants NIA Time To Respond In Anand Teltumbde’s Bail Appeal

20/10/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) two weeks to respond to Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde’s bail appeal.
Teltumbde has filed two petitions; the first is an appeal against the special court’s order rejecting his bail application and the second is a petition challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Bombay HC asks NIA to respond to Anand Teltumbde’s bail plea in two weeks

20/10/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The activist has filed another petition challenging the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
… The central agency has accused Teltumbde of being the convenor of the Elgaar Parishad conference held on December 31, 2017, that led to Bhima Koregaon violence the next day. It has alleged that the activist was an active member of the CPI (Maoist) and was “deeply involved in furtherance of its furtherance of its agenda.”
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Also read: Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay High Court Challenging Stringent Bail Conditions & ‘Vague Terminology’ In UAPA (Live Law, Sep 2021)

Bail is Not Impossible in UAPA Cases: Courts Can Shine a Path to Justice

Bail is Not Impossible in UAPA Cases: Courts Can Shine a Path to Justice

Bail is Not Impossible in UAPA Cases: Courts Can Shine a Path to Justice

19/10/2021

The Quint / by Vakasha Sachdev

Despite strict bail conditions & the SC’s Watali judgment, courts can still apply their mind to see if charges fit.
India has for many years had a major problem when it comes to pre-trial incarceration. 70 percent of prisoners in India are undertrials, according to the latest available NCRB data (from 2019) – that’s 3,28,000 people in jail without ever being convicted.
… The Bhima Koregaon accused are the best example of this, with bail denied to them despite incriminating evidence appearing to be planted on their computers (Rona Wilson), the material against them being dubious (Sudha Bhardwaj) and having severe illnesses (83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, who eventually died in jail).
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Kappan’s Chargesheet and Threat to Reporters Covering Minority Issues

19/10/2021

Newsclick / by Hana Vahab

An independent journalist in India has been behind the bars for one year. His crime, as per the chargesheet filed is, reporting and writing stories only for “inciting” the Muslim community.
… The number of journalists charged with UAPA in the past five years add up to over 5,000 with a hike of 162% in sedition cases between 2016- 2019 as per the National Crime Records Bureau. Those who were incarcerated under UAPA include … human rights lawyers Arun Ferreria and Surendra Gadling, Dalit rights activists Sudhir Dhawale and Mahesh Raut, women’s rights activist Shoma Sen among others.
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Human rights defenders don’t tarnish India’s image

Human rights defenders don’t tarnish India’s image

Human rights defenders don’t tarnish India’s image

19/10/2021

The Indian Express / by Kavita Krishnan

An event marking the 28th foundation day of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) revealed much about the current state of human rights in India.
… The fact is that India’s human rights defenders have held every shade of government responsible and accountable for human rights violations and infringement of civil liberties. Sudha Bharadwaj, a leading human rights defender who is in prison for the past three years thanks to flimsy charges under a draconian law, exposed rights violations in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar when the Union home ministry, then under the control of Modi’s rival, the Congress, unleashed “Operation Green Hunt” that resulted in the rape, massacre and displacement of Adivasi civilians in the name of combating Maoist insurgents.
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Mindset that harms human rights, writes P Chidambaram

17/10/2021

Indian Express / by P Chidambaram

In the last over three years, PM Modi has not uttered a word on the human rights of the prisoners in the Bhima Koregaon case nor on the prolonged delay in even framing the charges. I agree with the PM when he said “Such mindset harms human rights a lot.”
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Also read: Bhima Koregaon case: Three years of legal and rights violations (Newslaundry, Jan 2021)

Koregaon Bhima Inquiry Commission Witness from Vadhu Budruk questioned about village history

Koregaon Bhima Inquiry Commission Witness from Vadhu Budruk questioned about village history

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The village also has a disputed tomb-like structure, which, according to the Dalit Mahar community, is the samadhi of Govind Gopal Dhegoji Meghoji, a 17th-century Dalit figure.
The cross-examination of Sambhaji Shivale (51), a resident of Vadhu Budruk village in Pune district, continued before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry on Monday.
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The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

While out on temporary bail in August, the rights activist sang a song written by Kabir Kala Manch’s Ramesh Gaichor for his friends and colleagues about the sordid conditions in prison.
Mumbai: Surendra Gadling, a human rights lawyer from Nagpur, has always considered courtrooms his stage. Between serious arguments, he would casually break into songs of cultural and political resistance. He would be commonly found invoking political theories and remembering shahirs from the Dalit community amid serious legal arguments. His court appearances usually attracted an eager audience from among his peers and junior lawyers.
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Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

hindi | 11min | 2021

51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent.
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Also read: India’s Jail Stats: 7 In 10 Undertrials, 1 In 3 Dalit/Adivasi (IndiaSpend / Oct 2021)