Posts – Page 156 – free them all

Police grants permission to Elgar Parishad to be held on January 30

23/01/2021 Rani

Free Press Journal / by FPJ Web Desk

Pune police have granted permission to the Elgar Parishad which is slated to be held on January 30, reported Maharashtra Times.
As per the Facebook post on January 22, the event will be held at the Ganesh Krida Kala Manch in Pune’s Swargate area. “Organizers of Elgar have met Pune Commissioner of Police IPS Amitabh Gupta and Pune Police has given permission for the Elgar Parishad 2021,” reads the post.
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India’s human rights situation is very serious says UN Special Rapporteur

22/01/2021 Rani

Indian American Muslim Council / by IAMC

UN Special Rapporteur asks India to free 16 Human Rights Defenders accused in Bhima-Koregaon case.
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy organization dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, today launched a report titled, “Crushing Dissent: 2021 Status Report on Human Rights in India,” detailing human rights abuses in India. At the launch of this report, UN Special Rapporteur Ms. Mary Lawlor called upon the Indian government to immediately release 16 human rights defenders who have been imprisoned on charges of terrorism in the ‘Bhima-Koregaon Case’.
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Varavara Rao seeks temporary bail, State suggests transfer to JJ Hospital

22/01/2021 Rani

Varavara Rao seeks temporary bail, State suggests transfer to JJ Hospital

22/01/2021

Sabrang / by Sabrang India

Indira Jaising argued that no penological purpose would be served by keeping the ailing man detained.
Dr. Varavara Rao’s bail hearing which has been in progress since January 19 and which continued until January 21, has now been adjourned to January 27. Division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale have been hearing the petition and taking stock of Dr. Rao’s medical condition. Rao was admitted to the Nanavati Hospital on the court’s orders previously in view of his deteriorating health.
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‘When You Are Selectively Charging People, You Are Undermining Rule Of Law’: Jaising In Varavara Rao’s Bail Plea

22/01/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Maharashtra State informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that the state was willing to shift 81-year-old Telugu poet Varavara Rao directly to Sir JJ Hospital instead of sending him back to the Taloja Prison Hospital.
Rao, an accused under the UAPA in the Elgar Parishad – Maoist Links case, suffers from various medical complications and is currently admitted in Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital. A team of experts has informed the court last week that Rao is fit for discharge.
Arguing Rao’s bail on medical grounds, his lawyers have repeatedly emphasized the lack of infrastructure in the prison hospital to monitor his condition and therefore suggested interim bail for at least three months for the ailing man.
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Ready to shift Varavara Rao to JJ hospital prison ward: Maharashtra to HC

21/01/2021

Times of India / by Swati Deshpande

The State on Thursday said Telugu poet and Elgar Parishad accused P Varavara Rao, 81, can be shifted to the prison ward of the government-run JJ Hospital where he would get all the medical care needed.
… Additional solicitor general Anil Singh for National Investigation Agency (NIA) will make his submission on January 27 in a petition filed by Rao’s wife Hemlatha, for his release on bail on medical grounds from Taloja prison.
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Jail hospitals well-equipped to monitor Varavara Rao: NIA tells Bombay HC

21/01/2021

Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya

Asserting that Taloja jail hospital is well-equipped to monitor the health of Elgar Parishad case accused P Varavara Rao, Maharashtra government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the 82-year-old Telugu poet could be shifted to Taloja jail.
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Grant Varavara Rao Interim Bail For Three Months – His Lawyers Plead Before The Bombay High Court

20/01/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Advocates appearing for 81-year-old UAPA accused – Dr Varavara Rao – have for the first time suggested to the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the ailing Telugu poet be released on temporary bail for three months, his conduct be monitored and he be directed to report to some authority, after which he may be allowed to remain on bail.
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Do Not Send Varavara Rao Back to Taloja Jail: Anand Grover Urges Bombay High Court

20/01/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Even as Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital has finally said that the ailing 81- year-old Telugu poet – Varavara Rao – is fit for discharge, Senior Advocate Anand Grover urged the Bombay High Court on Tuesday to grant him bail on medical grounds as the Taloja Jail Hospital does not have the infrastructure to monitor his condition.
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Jail hospital ill-equipped to monitor Varavara Rao’s health, counsel tells Bombay HC

19/01/2021

Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya

The counsel for P Hemlatha, wife of 82-year-old Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, on Tuesday, argued before the Bombay high court (HC) that though Nanavati Hospital had said that Rao was fit to be discharged, Taloja jail hospital does not have the wherewithal to continue close monitoring of Rao’s health. Hence, she said it would be better to allow the Telugu poet to go back home to Hyderabad where his condition could be closely monitored by Rao’s daughter and granddaughter, both of whom are doctors, as per the recommendations by the Nanavati Hospital.
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Varavara Rao’s bail plea: Taloja Jail inadequate to monitor his health, lawyer tells Bombay HC

19/01/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The activist’s counsel also said that Rao was suffering from kidney failure and a host of other ailments.
Poet-activist Varavara Rao’s counsel on Tuesday asked the Bombay High Court to grant him bail on medical grounds, submitting that the Taloja Prison hospital lacks adequate infrastructure to treat him, PTI reported.
… The court will continue hearing the bail plea on Wednesday, PTI reported.
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Fr Stan Swamy: I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many

22/01/2021 Rani

By Fr Stan Swamy SJ

First of all, I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many during these past 100 days behind the bars. At times, news of such solidarity has given me immense strength and courage especially when the only thing certain in prison is uncertainty.
Life here is on a day-to-day basis. Another strength during these past hundred days, has been in observing the plight of the undertrials. A majority of them come from economically & socially weaker communities. Many of such poor undertrials don’t know what charges have been put on them, have not seen their charge sheet and just remain in prison for years without any legal or other assistance. Overall, almost all undertrials are compelled to live to a bare minimum, whether rich or poor. This brings in a sense of brotherhood & communitarianism where reaching out to each other is possible even in this adversity. On the other hand, we sixteen co-accused have not been able to meet each other, as we are lodged in different jails or different ‘circles’ within the same jail. But we will still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing.
Fr. Stan Swamy

Videos: Persecution by Prosecution – PUCL and 100 Organisations demand: Repeal UAPA / Session Reports

22/01/2021 Maya

en | 2h 17min | 2021

The Leaflet / by People’s Union for Civil Liberties

PUCL India and over hundred organisations present:

Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution

Also watch:
► Why is the state afraid of Sudha Bharadwaj? (en + hindi | 2h 53min | Jan 2021)
► 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy (en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021)

Session Report: Under UAPA, anything can be an offence based on flimsy evidence

22/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Megha Katheria

Bringing together lawyers, activists, and victims of UAPA, the second day of PUCL’s national consultation on repealing UAPA was packed with heart-wrenching stories of abuse and torture by the law. This underpinned the passionate launch of the campaign to repeal UAPA by PUCL and 100 other organisations. It is similar to the cohesive action by human rights organisations against TADA in 1990s and POTA in the early 2000s.
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Session Report: PUCL and 100 Organisations demand the repeal of the UAPA

21/01/2021

The Leaflet / by Parvathi Sjiv

In a session packed with human stories of abuse and misuse of law where activists and commoners were abused, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) began a three-day session on January 20th with over 100 other organisations comprising advocates, activists and others who spoke about the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Poets Should Not Populate Prisons: Israeli Poets Demand Varavara Rao’s Release

21/01/2021 Rani

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

“The arrest of Dr. Varavara Rao is an integral part of the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to reduce the democratic space in the country, and part of the political persecution and indictment of journalists, human rights activists, critical politicians and citizens and minority groups.”
In a letter sent to the Indian ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Kumar Singla, a group of Israeli poets have called for the immediate release of poet and activist Varavara Rao. The octogenarian has suffered a number of medical issues in prison recently, and his lawyers have filed for medical bail in the Bombay high court.
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Elgaar Parishad’s Jan 30 event: Arundhati Roy, ex-IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan among main speakers

19/01/2021 Rani

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’ has released a pamphlet for the coming Elgaar Parishad, which mentions its main speakers as Arundhati Roy, Kannan Gopinathan along with Rohith’s brother Raja Vemula.
Author Arundhati Roy and former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned from the services in protest against abrogation of Article 370, are among key speakers at the Elgaar Parishad event being organised in Pune on January 30 by ‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’.
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Also read: WHY IS ELGAR PARISHAD BEING REVIVED ? ELGAR PARISHAD ON JAN 30

Guilty by association – A profile of Hany Babu

18/01/2021 Maya

Solidarity poster, Aug 28, 2020

The Polis Project / by The Polis Project and maraa

… Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, 54, is an associate professor of Linguistics in Delhi University (DU). He is also a linguist, an anti-caste scholar, and a social activist. His work as an activist has been largely related to the pro-reservation movement in Indian universities. He is the coordinator of the Alliance of Social Justice, a member of the Joint Action Front for Democratic Education and, until his arrest, he was leading the Defense Committee for GN Saibaba, a professor convicted for alleged links with the Maoist movement.
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Fr Stan’s arrest figures in UK Parliament: Govt says, Indian authorities were “alerted”

18/01/2021 Maya

Counterview / by Rajiv Shah

Will Father Stan Swamy’s arrest, especially the fact that he is a Christian and a priest, turn out to be major international embarrassment for the Government of India? It may well happen, if a recent debate on a resolution titled “India: Persecution of Minority Groups” in the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament is any indication. While Jesuits have protested Fr Stan’s arrest in UK and US, the resolution, adopted in the Parliament, said, “This House has considered the matter of persecution of Muslims, Christians and minority groups in India”.
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Pegasus Snooping – Why Users No Longer Believe WhatsApp and Mobile Phones Are Secure

17/01/2021 Rani

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod

… When news broke that renowned Indian activists and lawyers had become victims of Pegasus, a chill went over all of us. It was an intensely strange experience to learn that we were being snooped on. Some time passed before we could understand what had really happened.
All of us were, in one way or another, connected with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
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