Posts – Page 77 – free them all

Long forgotten: India’s pretrial and undertrial prisoners

15/12/2022 Asha

Frontline / by Ashutosh Sharma

The country’s jails teem with poor and marginalised people detained without justification.
Since there was no one to furnish a Rs.30,000 surety bond, Jai Parkash, 47, spent over 22 years in judicial custody without a trial. On November 21, Parkash, a stout man with swollen hands and a puffy face, was finally released on bail as part of the remissions granted under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
… Quoting the Prison Statistics India report, Raghavan said: “Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of prisoners are SCs, STs, OBCs and Muslims. There is no data available on their socio-economic background, but our work with prison populations in Maharashtra shows that more than 60 per cent have a monthly family income less than Rs. 10,000.
Read more

Also read/watch:
● The Burgeoning Share of Undertrial Prisoners in India’s Jails (The Wire / Oct 2022)
● Punished without trial: How India’s political prisoners are being denied basic rights in jail (Scroll.in / Aug 2022)
● 4,484 People Died in Police Custody Since 2020: Govt Data (The Swaddle / Jul 2022)

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022

en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails.
Watch video

● Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

By The Wire

hindi | 11min | 2021
In August, when human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling was released on interim bail for a week, he made a quick visit to the Nagpur sessions court to meet his colleagues and friends. 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.
Watch video

Number of Jailed Journalists at New Global Record, Seven Behind Bars in India

14/12/2022 Asha

Number of Jailed Journalists at New Global Record, Seven Behind Bars in India

14/12/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Six out of the seven jailed journalists are being investigated under or charged under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The number of journalists across the world who have been put behind bars for practising their profession has reached a record high this year, said the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), adding that seven Indian reporters remain behind bars – a record high for the country.
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As seven journalists remain jailed, India continues to draw criticism over treatment of media: CPJ

15/12/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

In its annual report, the Committee to Protect Journalists said that across the world, a record number of 363 journalists were behind bars as of December 1.
As seven journalists remain imprisoned in India as of December 1, the country continues to draw criticism over its treatment of the media, the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Wednesday. The press body made the comment in its annual census of jailed journalist across the globe.
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Incriminating document found in Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused

13/12/2022 Asha

Incriminating document found in Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused: Reports American forensic firm

14/12/2022

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Kakshi

Previously, similar evidence of planting have also been found by the same firm, Arsenal, in the computer of mobile devices of Rona Wilson and Surendra Gadling, two other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
ON December 11, Arsenal Consulting, a United States-based digital forensic analysis firm, revealed that tribal rights activist and one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, the late Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer was compromised over the course of three distinct campaigns, beginning on October 19, 2014, and ending with the seizure of his computer by the Pune police department on June 12, 2019.
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Hackers planted evidence on computer of jailed Indian priest, report says

13/12/2022

The Washington Post / by Niha Masih

Father Stan Swamy died after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges
For months, Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest, claimed his innocence in courts and pleaded for medical care, but Indian authorities denied him bail. He died at a hospital in July 2021 after spending more than eight months in jail on terrorism charges.
Now, an examination of an electronic copy of his computer by Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm, concludes that a hacker infiltrated his device and planted evidence, according to a new report by the company.
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Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody

13/12/2022

Wired / by Andy Greenberg

And new evidence suggests those hackers may have collaborated with the police who investigated him.
The case of the Bhima Koregaon 16, in which hackers planted fake evidence on the computers of two Indian human rights activists that led to their arrest along with more than a dozen colleagues, has already become notorious worldwide. Now the tragedy and injustice of that case is coming further into focus: A forensics firm has found signs that the same hackers also planted evidence on the hard drive of another high-profile defendant in the case who later died in jail—as well as fresh clues that the hackers who fabricated that evidence were collaborating with the Pune City Police investigating him.
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Evidence Planted On Activist Stan Swamy’s Laptop, Claims US Report

13/12/2022

NDTV / by Aruveetil Mariyam Alavi, Sreenivasan Jain

The report blasts a hole in the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) charges against Stan Swamy.
A new report by an American forensic firm shows that multiple incriminating documents were planted in the computer of Father Stan Swamy, the 83-year-old activist-priest who was arrested for alleged terror links in 2020 and who died in custody a year later.
Read more

Also read:
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)

SC extends interim order granting house arrest to Gautam Navlakha till second week of January

13/12/2022 Asha

Bombay High Court seeks response from NIA on regular bail plea by Gautam Navlakha

14/12/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Bombay High Court on December 12 issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the regular bail plea filed by Delhi activist Gautam Navlakha who is one of the accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.
Navlakha moved the High Court after a special NIA court rejected his bail plea on September 5 this year.
A bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik sought the response of NIA and posted the matter for further consideration on January 9, 2023.
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Supreme Court extends interim order granting house arrest to Gautam Navlakha

14/12/2022

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

The Court allowed its grant of house custody to extend till the second week of January.
ON Tuesday, a division bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna, in its review of the interim order granting house arrest to Gautam Navlakha, extended the grant of house custody until the second week of January.
Journalist and human rights activist Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. During his custody as an undertrial prisoner, a charge sheet was filed on October 9, 2020, and charges are yet to be filed by the court.
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SC Extends House Arrest of Activist Gautam Navlakha Till Second Week of January

13/12/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The 70-year-old was named as an accused in the Elgar Parishad case by the National Investigation Agency, which has also arrested several activists, scholars and lawyers in connection with it.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, December 13, extended till second week of January its interim order placing activist Gautam Navlakha under house arrest.
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SC further extends activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest

13/12/2022

India Today / Maneesha Mathur

Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest has been extended till the second week of January. He is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The house arrest of human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, has been extended till the second week of January. The matter was listed before the Supreme Court for interim orders.
Read more

Also read:
● Gautam Navlakha moves HC seeking regular bail (Hindustan Times / Dec 13, 2022)
● Activist Gautam Navlakha Walks Out of Prison, Put Under House Arrest (The Wire / Nov 2022)

Activist Gautam Navlakha moves Bombay High Court seeking regular bail

12/12/2022 Asha

by Bar & Bench (Dec 13, 2022):
#SupremeCourt to hear plea by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha, in connection with the terms of his house arrest allowed by the top court.

Gautam Navlakha moves HC seeking regular bail

13/12/2022

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

Civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha on Monday moved the Bombay high court seeking regular bail in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon violence case.
Earlier, a special NIA court had on September 5 rejected the regular bail plea of the 70-year-old, who is presently under house arrest on medical grounds in Navi Mumbai.
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Bombay High Court Issues Notice On Gautam Navlakha’s Bail Appeal In Bhima Koregaon case

12/12/2022

Live Law / by Amisha Shrivastava

Journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case, has approached the Bombay High Court in appeal against rejection of his bail application by the trial court.
The division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice P. D. Naik on Monday issued notice to the NIA in the case.
Read more

Also read:
● Activist Gautam Navlakha Walks Out of Prison, Put Under House Arrest (The Wire / Nov 2022)
● Supreme Court dismisses NIA’s application for vacating its order granting house arrest to Gautam Navlakha (The Leaflet / Nov 2022)
● Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea rejected by special NIA court (Scroll.in / Sep 2022)

Hany Babu moves Bombay High Court seeking interim medical bail

10/12/2022 Asha

Hany Babu moves Bombay High Court seeking interim medical bail

09/12/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik asked NIA to check the reports annexed to Babu’s petition and posted the matter for hearing on December 13.
Delhi University professor Hany Babu has approached Bombay High Court seeking interim medical bail in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018.
Babu who has spent over 2 years in judicial custody has sought release from custody for a cataract surgery, treatment of his upper abdominal pain and osteoarthritis in a private hospital in Mumbai and post treatment recuperation at his own expense.
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Elgar Parishad case: Hany Babu seeks medical bail in HC

10/12/2022

Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya

56-year-old Babu, a professor of English Literature, spent over two years in judicial custody. He has sought his release for cataract surgery, treatment of his upper abdominal pain and osteoarthritis in a private hospital in the city and post-treatment recuperation at his own expense.
Former Delhi University professor Hany Babu, who is currently lodged in Taloja jail, has approached the Bombay high court (HC) seeking interim medical bail in the Elgar Parishad case.
Read more

Also read:
● Bombay HC Denies Bail to Hany Babu in Elgar Parishad Case, Upholds Trial Court Verdict (The Wire / Sep 2022)
● Relatives of BK16 Flag Prison Authorities’ ‘Criminal Negligence’ and Deteriorating Health of Undertrials (Newsclick / Sep 2022)

On Human Rights Day, a look at India’s surging human rights abuses / Personal liberty in India

10/12/2022 Asha

On Human Rights Day, a look at India’s surging human rights abuses

10/12/2022

National Herald / by NH Web Desk

The adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is marked as Human Rights Day on December 10, and December 2023 will mark the 75th anniversary of its adoption by the United Nations General Assembly.
… According to the Human Rights Watch, Indian authorities brought politically motivated cases, including under draconian sedition and terrorism laws, against human rights defenders, student activists, academics, opposition leaders, and critics, blaming them for the communal violence in February in Delhi as well as caste-based violence in Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra state in January 2018.
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Rights day: Call for release of Sikh political prisoners

11/12/2022

The Times of India / by TNN

Chandigarh/Jalandhar/Bathinda: Human rights activists, academicians and various religious activists on Saturday asked the Centre to release all political prisoners.
… In Faridkot, farmer body Kirti Kisan Union (KKU) along with Naujawan Bharat Sabha (NBS) and Punjab Students Union (PSU) took out a protest march and accused the BJP-led Centre of “not caring for the rights of protesting people and putting activists in jail on flimsy grounds”. They also accused the Centre of “mistreating activists” arrested for Bhima Koregaon and Delhi riots.
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The situation of personal liberty in India

11/12/2022

Indica News / by Justice Markandey Katju

Justice Markandey Katju is a former Judge, Supreme Court of India, and former Chairman, Press Council of India.
In his Hamlyn Lecture, Lord Denning, the celebrated Judge of England, said, ” Whenever one of the King’s judges takes his seat in Court there is one application which by long tradition has priority over all others, and that is an application for a writ of habeas corpus. The counsel has only to say ‘My Lord, I have an application which concerns the liberty of a subject’, and forthwith the judge will put all other matters aside and hear it ”.
But what is the position in India?
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Amnesty International: Act now to demand the release of the BK16!

10/12/2022 Asha

By Amnesty International

Since 2018, Indian authorities have arrested 16 activists under a draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. 11 of them continue to languish in prison without trial.
The repression of activists must end. 
…
INDIAN AUTHORITIES MUST RELEASE ALL IMPRISONED ACTIVISTS IN THE BK16 CASE!
Act now to urge the Union Home Minister of India, Amit Shah to: 
► Drop all charges against the 16 activists and immediately release the 12 who remain in detention  
► Pending their release, ensure that they are granted prompt, regular, and unrestricted access to medical care and other basic necessities  
► Repeal or substantially amend the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 
Read full statement / sign petition

Interview with Sudha Bharadwaj: One Year in Exile

09/12/2022 Asha

By Workers Unity

hindi | 36min | 2022

Eminent trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj was released on 9 December 2021 after being in jail for three years. She is not allowed to go out of Mumbai. How has this one year been for her, Chhattisgarh has been the field of work, the regret of not being able to go there, what were her experiences in jail, what were the challenges of being a trade union leader as a woman. Workers’ Unity talked to him in detail on these subjects.
Watch video

Also read/watch:
● ACTIVIST SUDHA BHARADWAJ WALKS OUT OF JAIL AFTER OVER THREE YEARS / SPONTANEOUS CELEBRATIONS (Dec 9, 2022)

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Thousands gather at Chaityabhumi to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

07/12/2022 Asha

Dalit women must fight for rights: Ambedkar’s granddaughter

07/12/2022

Deccan Herald / by DHNS

Referring to the Bhima Koregaon case, she said Dalits are steadily adopting a “silent stance,” despite being attacked regularly across the country
B R Ambedkar’s granddaughter Ramabai Anand Teltumbde on Tuesday appealed to women to ‘unite and fight’ for scholarships and employment opportunities, indirectly hitting out at the Modi administration.
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Thousands gather at Chaityabhumi to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar

07/12/2022

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

People of all ages, young and old, calling themselves ‘Ambedkar,’ gathered at Chaityabhumi, the cremation ground of the Father of the Indian Constitution.
Thousands of men, women and children from across Maharashtra came to Mumbai on Tuesday to pay homage to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar on his 66th death anniversary.
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