BK16 – Page 33 – free them all

Video: 100 Days of the incarceration of Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ and the brutal face of the Indian State

15/01/2021 Rani

By Stand with Stan Campaign and 100 other civil society organisations

A programme in solidarity with the 16 human rights defenders arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case

Date: Jan 15, 2021
en + hindi | 3h | Jan 2021
► Watch video @ PUCL fb page

Moderator: Apoorvanand, Teacher and Writer
Special Address: Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
Speakers: Mihir Desai, Xavier Dias, Dayamani Barla, Aloka Kujur, Virginius Xaxa, Dorothy Fernandes
Performances:
Mallika Sarabhai, “I Shall Rise” (Maya Angelou’s poem)
Santhali Dance by Shikari Pada Santhal Pargana and other cultural expressions from Jharkhand
Performance video of arrested artists from Kabir Kala Manch

More programmes: …

Podcast: Bhima Koregoan violence – Three years on, Activists remain arrested and justice remain awaited

12/01/2021 Rani

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

By On Record

Three years after the caste violence in Bhima Koregoan, 16 human right activists have been arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in connection with the case. Multiple conspiracy theories have been laid out by the police but it may be long before they are proved and the guilty is punished.
Professor Apoorvanand from Delhi University and Harish Vasudevan, an advocate practicing at Kerala High court share their insights for the story.
Listen to podcast (11:00min)

Online events: The incarceration of Stan Swamy – Repeal UAPA – Release BK16 arrestees – Book Release

11/01/2021 Rani

By twenty initiating movements/organisations

Online programmes:
• On 15 January: HUNDRED DAYS of the incarceration of Father Stan Swamy and the brutal face of the Indian State
• On 20, 21, 22 January: Repeal UAPA, the draconian legal tool to indefinitely put dissenters behind bars, using the bogey of national security and extremism.
• On 24 January: “Why does the Indian State fear Sudha Bharadwaj”. The Release of a PUCL published book on Advocate, activist, trade unionist, lawyer and mother Sudha Bharadwaj.

Join us on Facebook Live

Dear Friends,
SALAAM!
During the last 20 months since the 2019 elections, we have all witnessed the depths to which the present ruling party can descend to crush, subvert, deny, undermine and weaken the institutions, structure and processes of rule of law and constitutional democracy. Brazenly and with impunity, the government has used the law and the police agencies to stifle and silence democratic voices of dissent through false prosecutions and persecution of rights defenders and undemocratic measures to curb the lawful activities of organisations. What is most distressing is the near-total abdication of their constitutional duties to safeguard constitutionally mandated fundamental rights and crushing of dissent by constitutional institutions, including the Supreme and High courts.
As happened in the emergency period and other times in our history as an independent nation, citizens are now standing up to say “Enough is enough” and are fighting to safeguard the Indian Constitution, rule of law and democracy. …

Stan Swamy, has been harassed since 2018: OHCR / Endorse: International appeal

11/01/2021 Rani

Human rights defender Stan Swamy, has been harassed since 2018: OHCR

11/01/2021

Sabrang / by Sabrang India

Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Special Rapporteur on minority issues; write to Indian Govt over Fr Stan Swamy’s prolonged detention.
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; the and Special Rapporteur on minority issues, have made public a letter they had written to the Indian Government expressing their concern over the “alleged arbitrary detention of human rights defender Stan Swamy”.
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Endorse: International appeal to United Nations regarding Fr. Stan Swamy, S.J

09/01/2021

By Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat – Society of Jesus

Fr. Stan Swamy, SJ is a 83 years old Indian Jesuit priest incarcerated for alleged anti-national activities. He was arrested on October 8, 2020. The antecedents of this case can be traced back to 1 January 2018 violence against the Dalits across the state of Maharashtra. One Dalit youth was killed and countless of number of Dalits injured. Even though all evidence pointed to the role of right-wing leaders in the violence that erupted after the annual celebration at Bhima Koregaon, the state thought it convenient to foist false cases against human rights defenders who are known to stand up for the poor.
Read more / read & sign appeal

India: Call to UN for release of Fr Stan Swamy

08/01/2021

Independent Catholic News / by ICN

The Jesuits of India, together with an international network of civil society organizations, have appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to obtain the immediate release of Jesuit Father Stan Swamy, 83, who has been imprisoned since 8 October on charges of sedition with 15 other human rights defenders in India. The appeal is a joint initiative of the Jesuits, Claretians and other congregations and organizations present at the United Nations.
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Stories of Dissent – The BK16

05/01/2021 Rani

By The London Story

Born in America, Sudha Bhardwaj is a human rights lawyer practising in the Chhattisgarh High Court. She renounced her American citizenship at the age of 18, in order to join the Indian civil liberties movement. Bhardwaj has lived in Chhattisgarh, a state with a large tribal population, for more than 29 years of her life. She has been helping tribals against the illegal acquisition of their land by the government and private companies.
Read more

Bhima Koregaon case: Three years of legal and rights violations

02/01/2021 Rani

Newslaundry / by Prateek Goyal

The violation of the rights of the activists, lawyers and scholars, disregard for rules and misuse of law has marked the case since the very beginning.
Maharashtra’s prisons routinely provide TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners, cellphones, and homemade food to hardcore criminals and politicians. Yet, they refused to give a drinking straw to Stan Swamy, an 83-year-old scholar and activist awaiting trial. The police also denied a request to allow the family of Gautam Navlakha, who is 70, to send him prescription glasses. The courts were petitioned but they did little to help.
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Lawyers Withstood Pressures and Defended Activists in the Bhima Koregaon Case

01/01/2021 Rani

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod

Lawyers who defended activists in the Bhima Koregaon case risked being branded anti-national, but they believed that they were innocent and it was necessary to uphold the rule of law and constitutional values, says Nihalsing B Rathod.
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Video: Tribute to Political Prisoners January 1, 2021

01/01/2021 Maya

en / hindi | 6min | 2021

By National Alliance of People’s Movements

As we enter a new year, 2021, full of challenges and possibilities, we look back and remember many of our comrades and follow-travellers who remain incarcerated and persecuted. Their only ‘crime’: trying to make this country a better place, with rights and justice for all of us, especially for those marginalized and oppressed.
To that spirit of resistance and resilience, we dedicate this video and our energies over the coming year. Stand with all those persecuted, jailed and vilified for standing with the human rights of others.
#FreeAllPoliticalPrisoners #EndStateRepression

In solidarity,
National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)

Watch video

Bhima Koregaon, Elgar Parishad: One-Sided Probe / Ex-HC judge condemns jailing of activists

31/12/2020 Rani

Bhima Koregaon, Elgar Parishad: One-Sided Probe

01/01/2021

HW English / by Neeta Kolhatkar

Hindu right-wing duo, Milind Ekbote and Manohar Bhide, the two main accused named by Anita Sawle in her FIR, are obviously still free.
This December 31, it will be three years since the Elgar Parishad held in Shaniwarwada, Pune, historically was considered the seat, of power seat of the Peshwas. The Parishad was attended by intellectuals, lawyers, activists, students, members of the Kabir Kala Manch and other participants.
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Ex-HC judge condemns jailing of Bhima Koregaon activists

01/01/2021

Deccan Herald / DHNS

The 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence has only increased the popularity of the Bhima Koregaon victory celebrations, retired Karnataka High Court judge H N Naga Mohan Das has said.
Participating in the 203rd historic Bhima Koregaon commemoration event organised virtually by the Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar Studies and Research Centre of Bangalore University, Justice Das on Wednesday condemned the term ‘Urban Naxals’ used on participants of the 2018 incident and the continued imprisonment of some of them.
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Draconian Laws, Trumped-Up Charges: In India, 2020 Was a Year of Crushing Dissent

27/12/2020 Maya

Draconian Laws, Trumped-Up Charges: In India, 2020 Was a Year of Crushing Dissent

27/12/2020

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The year, which kicked off with countrywide protests and riots in the capital, saw personal liberties take a big hit with anti-terror and defamation laws being used routinely to silence dissenters and human rights defenders.
Disproportionate application of draconian laws, divisive media reporting and jail terms for students and activists were some of the main highlights of 2020. Almost every month this year, several activists and academics have been either arrested or booked under counter-terrorism law, sedition and other laws, for merely expressing their discontent against the current dispensation.
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Year-Ender 2020: Historic Judgments, Observations By Mumbai Courts

28/12/2020

mid-day / by mid-day online correspondent

The coronavirus induced lockdown in 2020 made virtual court proceedings the new normal in India. The Bombay High Court and other special courts in Mumbai passed some historical judgments virtually this year. Here is a quick rewind.
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